Foo - What would you do? I'm owed and am going to collect my due.

The company I work for is open from 8am to 10pm Mon - Fri and 9am to 6pm on Sat, and 12pm to 6pm on Sun. I work 10am to 7pm Tues - Fri and 9am to 6pm on Sat. Off on Sun and Mon. I work for a Telecom company, in internet/IT.

My company has a policy that is part of their mission statement that basically says they value employees personal time and family time away from work beyond the hours employees work. They do not offer overtime. Sometimes I get stuck staying late Tues - Fri. No big deal. I just leave early the next day, like I said they do not offer nor want to pay OT. Another policy they have is on Sat. and Sun, because we are not at full staff no one is allowed to leave early unless they are sick. If a person takes a short lunch they can leave early or come in late the following Tues.

On Sat. we only have about 6 or 7 of us working with a Supervisor. That is why no one can leave early. For the last couple of Sat. someone has been allowed to leave early. As a result I have had to stay late to help pick op the slack. I do not volunteer for this. At about 5 min. before we close something always happens that I need to stay and deal with. So the time I am stuck there my weekend is being shortened and cut into. This really pisses me off when I see everyone else leave and I have to stay often up to a half an hour later. My boss says well you can just leave early on Tues. She knows I am getting tired of this, but does nothing to fix the problem, despite me going to her and her boss both about the problem. I have been very diplomtic about it.

I may be able to leave early on Sat. but my weekend is still cut short and I am beginning to think the company does not believe their own mission statement about valueing someones time after the work shift ends. I have always left early the following Tues. when I work late on Sat. Technically I did not get my full 2 days off. If I did I would have started late on Tues., not elave early.

So I have made a decision of 3 choices I can make. I want to know what you would do.

1. Record my time like I do everyday and get paid the overtime, not leave early the next work day, or any day for that matter. If the boss says something about it then politley and diplomatically explain why. And discuss and negotiate a solution to the problem of me staying late on Sat. But let my boss come to me, stop going to her as I had been.
2. Call my boss on her day off, Mon. and say because I stayed late on Sat. I am coming in late tomorrow, Tues. In other words bother her with this on her day off because my time off was cut into on Sat. Of course I will not say I am calling you on your day off because I had to stay late on Sat. I'll be nice about it.
3. Wait until the following Sat., after lunch so I am not told to take a longer lunch, but well enough before I leave and say to my boss I want to leave early on today because I stayed late the previous Sat.

Either way the company owes me something for cutting into my time off. I bust my ass for them and they claim they value my time off after my shift ends. I'm getting sick and frustrated with it. I'm also sorry to vent this frustration on you folks. But what of the 3 choices would you do?

First rule with businesses:

Document everything. I'd do your first suggestion and record your time like normal. I'd avoid calls -- that tends to be off the record and should push come to shove, you have no proof of the transaction or what anyone said.

It doesn't matter it your company wants to 'offer' overtime or not. Chances are you are entitled to it unless you are some management type, even if you are a 'professional'.

I would submit for the overtime and see what your manager has to say. And then explain the situation to her and see if you can come up with a solution.

My guess? the part of the company mission statement about valuing your time away from work is feelgood bs.

and I would comepletely agree with mlts22 about documenting everything.

Ditto. If you are 'hourly', you get OT pay. Period. State departments of labor look very poorly
on companies that avoid paying it.

OTOH, during times like these, making waves can lead you to be the next laid off -- and that
is not a good thing. Choose your course of action wisely, grasshopper.

And that's why I downgraded myself from fixed salary Unix Admin to hourly Data Center Button Pusher. When everything brakes we all go in and work overtime... the admins get the credit and the recognition, I get my big arse overtime pay check. :D

4. Get another job.

You're in IT? If that's your only qualm about your job, you should just be glad you have one.

If you're hourly, then log the time. If you're on salary, then you need more talking with your boss and maybe have another job in the background.

People can tell when they are being manipulated, and they don't like it. All your suggestions come off that way to me. Doing any of those things are just going to make you look like a manipulative jerk, will very likely not result in your full weekend off, or will result in a VERY extended weekend, if you know what I mean.

You've already talked to your boss and your boss's boss (I hope not behind your boss's back!) and not gotten the result you want. Is this something you are willing to lose your job over? if not, just HTFU and do the extra hours.

I am hourly. I only said the company does not offer OT. I never said they do not pay it when it is accidentally worked. They do because they have to according to labor laws. They try to avoid having to pay it by letting hourly people go home early the next day, come late or take an longer lunch. This way the only has 40 hours of recorded work on our time track program, instead of 40.5, etc.

It is crap though that your employer would just say you stay late this Saturday and then leave early Tuesday so we do not have to pay you overtime.

I would reccomend that all the Saturday workers be put on a rotation so that each person knows when he is to stay late. You stayed late this Saturday, so it is not your turn again until each of the other Saturday workers has done so as well.

I am hourly. I only said the company does not offer OT. I never said they do not pay it when it is accidentally worked. They do because they have to according to labor laws. They try to avoid having to pay it by letting hourly people go home early the next day, come late or take an longer lunch. This way the only has 40 hours of recorded work on our time track program, instead of 40.5, etc.

I'm not sure what they are doing is legal. If you're hourly, just clock all the hours you work. Then take it up with your boss when she comes to complain about it.

Labor laws vary from state to state. Check into when a "pay week" is in your company. It could be that they're screwing you out of pay by having you work longer hours on Saturday, but taking time off on Tuesday. If the pay week is Sunday-Saturday, they owe you OT pay for the hours worked on Saturday. Essentially, if the work week is anything other than something that includes Tuesday following Saturday, they owe you OT pay. Your work-week may be different than the company's pay-week.

If your pay-week ends on Sunday, for example, and you work extra hours on Saturday, you should get OT for those hours. Your company then has you either come in late or leave early on Tuesday, thus shorting your hours for that week if you don't work extra hours on the following Saturday. Either way, you're getting screwed.

It is crap though that your employer would just say you stay late this Saturday and then leave early Tuesday so we do not have to pay you overtime.

I would reccomend that all the Saturday workers be put on a rotation so that each person knows when he is to stay late. You stayed late this Saturday, so it is not your turn again until each of the other Saturday workers has done so as well.

Staying late on Sat. is not inentional or expected. When I have had to stay late on Sat. it is incidental/accidental. It typically happens when someone leaves early and they do not have scheduled time off or go home sick. This usually happens when someone takes a short lunch and the boss lets them go home early that day rather then have them go home early or come in late the following Tues, which is what they are supposed to do. There have been a few times where no one goes home early and I am still stuck there on late on a Sat. but that is often because a few people make themselves not available, I keep myself available and have to pick up their slack. I guess my work ethic is just too strong.

Ditto. If you are 'hourly', you get OT pay. Period. State departments of labor look very poorly
on companies that avoid paying it.

OTOH, during times like these, making waves can lead you to be the next laid off -- and that
is not a good thing. Choose your course of action wisely, grasshopper.

I second this advice--if you are going to force the issue of getting the OT you are
entitled to by law you need to document everything so that if you are laid off
in retaliation you can fight it. Retaliatory action against employees who simply
demand what they are entitled to by law is illegal but showing that an action is
retaliatory rather than based on other reasonable facts can be hard.

Square and Compas (sic) I think it would be best if your supervisor got on here and posted her side of the story.