Legal Question in Employment Law in New Jersey

can I be fire for not working saturday for no pay

I was fire because i would not work another saturday

with out being paid.i was hire to work at a branch that was

10 min away from my home we have 3 branches the main office

about one hour away from my home i was hire to work monday thru friday and which my employer is aware that i have a second job and which i work on saturdays to make ends meet.about two month after i was hire the ceo came to me and ask me to help him out he said that he need me to work

at lease one saturday a month i agreed to work thinking

i will be compensated for that time never was paid are compensated for that time i approach him a few times about working for nothing i work two years with out missing a day no vacation no sick time and our handbook states we would be paid for the time we don't use and i was never paid my branch has one employee which is myself the main office has 5 employees

why should i have to drive a hour away stay 5 to 8 hours

burn about $20.00 for gas with no pay that's not right

and then sept 2005 i was ask to work another saturday so that would

be two saturday amonth with no pay and i was harass about

working that saturday. my office has just one employee

65% of the business is coming out of my office.

thanks


Asked on 3/01/06, 11:11 am

1 Answer from Attorneys
Edward Fronczkiewicz, Jr. Miksch and Fronczkiewicz

Re: can I be fire for not working saturday for no pay

First of all, yes your employer can fire you for refusing to work on Saturday. Absent an employment contract or membership in a union, you would be considered an "at will" employee meaning that you can be fired at anytime and for any reason. I do have one caveat to this statement, see below***

Regarding your pay, if you are a "non-exempt" employee your employer can not refuse to pay you for any hours that you worked. Further, any hours worked over 40 hours must be paid as overtime (1 1/2 times your hourly rate). So, if you are non-exempt your employer must pay you for the Saturday hours you claim you have worked.

Alternatively, if you are an "exempt" employee your employer would not be required to pay you any additional pay for the Saturday hours. As an exempt employee, the employer can require you to work 100 hours a week or more without additional pay if they so choose.

***Regarding your termination, if your employer fired you for you objecting to not being paid for Saturday work you may also have a whistle blower claim under the NJ CEPA statute.

These issues are very fact sensitive and require knowledge of the laws involved. My recommendation is that you seek the advice of an attorney familiar with these areas of the law (either me or someone else). I have been involved in numerous cases involving these issues and would be happy to provide you with a free initial consultation.

Feel free to contact me via email, [email protected], or click on my "Attorney Profile" link for my other contact information.

Regards.

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Answered on 3/01/06, 11:49 am


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