Compensation for Salaried employees working overtime

Eddie Willers said:

Engineering seems to have a high degree of unusual compensation plans for professionals. Straight salary is common, as are limited overtime plans.

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It's the hours, and time away from home, that are unusual compared to most salaried professionals. So a lot of us get stuck working 7 12s on the road for weeks on end on a pay scale designed for bankers.

I have worked at various places that involves travel, it's either:

1. Some kind of overtime pay.

or

2. Comp time, official or unofficial.

Never do I need to call in "sick" for comp time. The bottom line is, if you think you are under-compensated (think of the overall package), then seek a better position.

I know of people who makes $250k+ think they are under compensated due to crazy work loads, it's all relative.

You need to negotiate. If you are indispensable then you have negotiating strength.

I changed jobs early this year, salaried non exempt. I get 1 1/2 for over 40 and double time on Sundays.

I'm a firm believer if you feel the pay is inadequate make your case. If they don't agree then be prepared to move on.

My 2 cents

I'm an Owner Operator of a U.S. S Corp. I work a minimum of 60 Hours a week and have two electrician/technicians and 3 pipe fitter/welders. I provide full Blue Shield Platinum 90 medical for my employees and their families, 401K matching funds, paid holiday and vacation, guarantee 40 hours pay regardless of workload weekly. I give them Company vehicles for use from home to shop and gas cards for personal and company vehicles as well as FastTrack (toll road RFID transponders) so I guess everyone that works for me is kind of salary… If they work overtime they make that too. Any professional development costs for training, I pay for. Oh, did I mention we are a certified California Alternative Work Week employer so all my employees normally work Mon-Thur 6 to 4:30 and I have no time clocks and I don’t really enforce punctual availability. I know, crazy...but I've been in business over 11 years and was a V.P. at another extremely successful automation integration general contractor for 13 years. I love what I do. I'm a GREAT industrial solution provider. I don't relish all the payroll, taxes, insurance, safety training, government compliance etc. that come with an Industrial Contractor operating in California, but working as an individual for large Government or Private organizations is far worse for me as an individual. Just my 2 cent input…

I believe that most states have laws stating that exempt employees have the right to refuse to work overtime unless there is a comp time policy.

If the compensation schedule bothers you, time to look for greener pastures. They're out there.

I gave up $20k/year this year to get off of the road and to have my weekends off. The first company that I hired on at made all of the right promises, but it wasn't a week into the job when I was told that I had to be there Saturday, Sunday, and be next to the phone for 12 hours a day. Riiiggght...

When I confronted them about the change in policy, they said "Yeah, we know. We have to lie to get people to work for us".

Needless to say, I didn't stick around for long.

My current employer as of so far is keeping their end of the bargain (I was clear about my expectations during the interview process). So far it's been a nice change.

@Flopro: Good on you! It's nice to see an employer that "walks the talk"!

Well, there is what is common practice and what is fair.

Where I work we get paid for travel during normal work hours but nothing beyond that. I just got back after 24 hours spent travelling from point A to B. I get to claim 8 hours of 'work'. Yippee. So, obviously I try to schedule all travel during normal working hours. We don't get any extra compensation for being away from home.

We don't get any paid overtime. Yet you better have 40 hours a week posted. We also are not allowed to document any hours over 40 so they have no idea how much overtime we work. It makes it very hard to show we need additional help because we get the work done in '40' hours. Any comp time is strictly unofficial and is never anywhere near to 1:1.

What is fair? Well, I think that is up to you. If you receive a great salary, good benefits and unpaid OT and travel is minimal you might think it fair. Just by posting here, I think you've made it clear you do not think it is fair.

Your company doesn't seem to agree with you. They don't seem to want to change. I know one sure way to make your point emphatically clear. Find another deal you think is fair.