Human Resource Blog

Salaried Manager

	Compensation
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I work for a company and am a store manager, I just read on your website about when companies are required to pay overtime for salary managers. I have a staff of 15 people I am allowed to hire as I please, however I cannot fire employees without any consultation. I am also held to many limitations on decisions regarding how to increase business and profitability. I only am concerned because we are required to work aa minimum of 45 hours a week, are especgted to work 55 hours a week and must sign timecard statments sayng that we only worked 40 hours a week. I am curious to know if this is not only unethical (I feel it is), but illegal, There are many store managers obviously unhappy with this situation, and we all feel that if I work 60 hours a week why do I have to sign something saying that it was only 40? I am very interested to know what your response is.
Thank You
Alex P.

In order to be salaried exempt, a manager must have significant decision-making responsibilities – but this doesn’t mean that the manager must have unlimited power. The reality in the business world is that even CEOs can seldom just do whatever they want, in terms of revenue and profitability.

It is odd that the employer would require managers to sign a statement that they are only working 40 hours per week when in fact they are working 45 to 55 or more. Often hourly employees are asked to sign a statement that they have been paid for all hours worked – but that doesn’t seem to be the case here.  A manager – or a group of managers — would be within his or her rights to refuse to sign such a document. An employee who was terminated for this would likely be entitled to unemployment benefits.

It’s possible that the timecard is just a relic of a past personnel procedure. Normally employees are asked to sign the timecard as a way of verifying that it correctly records the number of hours worked. If the objectionable statement is preprinted, the employer may not even remember that it is on the timecards. It would be interesting to know if you have pointed this out to the employer, and what he or she said about it.

For a final determination on your status as a salaried-exempt employee, contact the US Department of Labor. However, nothing you have told us leads us to believe that you are entitled to overtime pay.