Legal Question in Employment Law in Florida
Why am I salaried not hourly
I was hired as a retail merchandiser at an hourly rate to order & service the display racks in local grocery stores. After 6 months the company announced that it was no longer paying overtime and put me on salary (doing the exact same job) but with a ''title'' change to retail sales rep which makes it appear that I'm an outside sales person. Now the company has changed my ''duties'' to also include driving a van and delivering the product to the grocery stores as well as the aforementioned duties. I'm now known as a ''route delivery rep'' doing 2 jobs instead of 1 for the same ''salary''. Working more than 40 hours a week is the norm. Why am I salaried, not hourly? And how do the ''right to work'' laws fit in? How can they just totally change my job description and have me doing something I wasn't hired to do or particularly want to do and get away with it? I'm self supporting and tied up until or unless I find other equal employment. I'm also a 58 year old female. Thank you for your time.
3 Answers from Attorneys
Re: Why am I salaried not hourly
Contracts like this are usually enforceable. If there was not any contract, you may be entitled to overtime wages under the Fair Labor Standards Act.
Re: Why am I salaried not hourly
The right to overtime cannot be waived by contract. If you perform duties that are non- exempt, you are entitled to overtime. Your title is not relevant to that question.
Your duties as a driver may bring you under some exemptions, but more facts woould be necessary.
Re: Why am I salaried not hourly
First, Florida's "right to work" laws only mean that you cannot legally be forced to join a Union if you choose not to.
Second, whether you are legally entitled to overtime depends on a multitude of factors. It would appear that your employer changed your pay structure to salaried because paying an employee a salary is one part of what is required by the Fair Labor Standards Act to avoid overtime. However, if you do not meet the other "exemption" requirements, even if you are paid a salary, you may still be legally entitled to overtime compensation. Please feel free to contact me at (305) 810-2887 to further discuss what your rights may be.
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