Most job responses I get is they’re not hiring anymore due to restructuring. Aka they just go for pure profit increase while overworking the understaffed employees. No more remote interviews either. Tons of requests to do one sided video interviews. And the pays appear lower than they were during the main pandemic, even though all prices have gone up since. I’ve no clue how I’ll find a job, yet alone one which will cover my expenses just to exist. And the employers catch on and push abusive shit. My current job has unpaid overtime. I’m leaving, but I’ve no clue what fate holds.

  • hedgehog@ttrpg.network
    291·
    6 months ago

    If you’re in the US, unpaid overtime is only permissible if you’re salaried exempt. To be salaried exempt:

    • you must make at least $684 every week ($35,568/year)
    • your primary job responsibility must be one of the following:
      • executive - managing the enterprise, or managing a customarily recognized department or subdivision; you must also regularly direct your work of at least two FTEs and be able to hire / fire people (or be able to provide recommendations that are strongly considered)
      • administrative - office or non-manual work directly related to the management or general business operations, or
      • learned professional - work which is predominantly intellectual in character and which includes work requiring the consistent exercise of discretion and judgment, in the field of science or learning
      • creative professional - work requiring invention, imagination, originality or talent in a recognized field of artistic or creative endeavor
      • IT related - computer systems analyst, computer programmer, software engineer or other similarly skilled worker in the computer field
      • sales
      • HCE (you must be making at least $107k per year)
    • your pay must not be reduced if your work quality is reduced or if you work fewer hours
      • for example, if you work 5 days a week, for an hour a day, you must get the same pay as if you worked 8 hours every day. There are some permissible deductions they can make - like if you miss a full day - and they can require you to use vacation time or sick time, if you have it - and of course they can fire you if you’re leaving without completing your tasks… but they still have to pay you.

    Check out https://www.dol.gov/agencies/whd/fact-sheets/17a-overtime for more details on the above.

    It’s quite possible you’re eligible for back-paid overtime.

    Note also that the minimum exempt wages are increasing in July.

    Re your “cover my expenses just to exist” bit and the follow-up about employers catching on and pushing abusive shit… if this is related to a disability make sure to look into getting that on record and seeking an accommodation. If your primary job duty is X and they’re pushing you to do Y, but your disability makes Y infeasible, then it’s a pretty reasonable accommodation to ask to not have to do Y (assuming your HCP agrees, of course).

    • Nollij@sopuli.xyzEnglish
      8·
      6 months ago

      Adding onto this, these are just the US federal requirements. Different states, particularly California, restrict that even further.

      ETA: Many other countries have stronger worker protections than the US. They also have the same levels of greed, and sometimes the same level of abuse. Don’t assume it’s legal just because they put it on paper; research your area’s employment laws.