Did you know your employer can make you work 80 consecutive hours WITHOUT having to pay overtime?

Most people think it is 40 before being forced to pay 1.5X normal rate, but because it must be over 40 in a WORKWEEK and an employer is given the freedom to make up whatever workweek they want (as long it is consecutive days) they can manipulate your schedule to split those 80 hours in half. For example, let us say you always work 8 hours a day for the sake of argument. Your employer makes the pay period Thursday to Wednesday. You could be made to work Saturday August 25th to Monday Sept. 3rd (10 straight days at 8 hours a day for a total of 80 hours) an NOT be legally entitled to overtime. They do this because THEIR WORKWEEK ends after Wednesday Aug. 29th and cuts that 80 into two 40s. So basically assuming you work 8 hours a day the only way to guarantee overtime pay (federally, at least) is to work at least 11 straight days.

What it says: got cut off:
Most people think it is 40 before being forced to pay 1.5X normal rate, but because it must be over 40 in a WORKWEEK and an employer is given the freedom to make up whatever workweek they want (as long it is consecutive days) they can manipulate your schedule to split those 80 hours in half. For example, let us say you always work 8 hours a day for the sake of argument. Your employer makes the pay period Thursday to Wednesday. You could be made to work Saturday August 25th to Monday Sept. 3rd (10 straight days at 8 hours a day for a total of 80 hours) an NOT be legally entitled to overtime. They do this because THEIR WORKWEEK ends after Wednesday Aug. 29th and cuts that 80 into two 40s. So basically assuming you work 8 hours a day the only way to guarantee overtime pay (federally, at least) is to work at least 11 straight days.

https://www.dol.gov/whd/regs/compliance/whdfs23.pdf

So be the employer? I thought this was pretty much common knowledge though if you ever had a job.

Having filed an overtime claim personally with the Arkansas labor board and won. Resulting in my boss/owner of company having to legally cut me an extra check for $1500 when he told me I would never get a dime originally.
He never thought I was capable of reading laws and backing up what I said because he was the type of Guy who thinks he is smarter than everyone.
I can't click your link but I just do not see how your logic works cause in Arkansas, that would not fly.

The employer can not randomly change the workweek though so it is known up front for the employee. 

If you don't have a job that allows for regular weekends and would require you to work 10 days straight you either need a new job or work in a couple of "undesirable" sectors.  I am not knocking it I am an employer in one of those sectors.

Under the FLSA, the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938, employers must pay an overtime premium equal to 1.5 times the employee’s usual hourly wage, for each hour that the employee works, over 40 hours in a payroll week. 

And how often is the company gonna try and do that making you work like that then give you 4 days in a row off to try and beat the system?
I have never heard of a job that does ten 8's and 4 off.

I think a few industries are exempt though. I'm pretty sure truck driving is one of them. 

Oh, I see what he's saying. Who cares ... that's common sense ... you'll still get 2 out of every 7 days off. 

So get this clarified by an employer before you agree to work for them.  Don't work for scumbags who pull shenanigans.

Detox, truck drivers these days that are employed through companies have daily road log restrictions to only drive for like 8 hours at a time before having to pull off.

8ofcups, a verbal agreement beforehand will not fly with state law
Just ask my former boss...LOL
His argument was I agreed to his conditions but the law won;)

I hear you, bro.  Fuck The Man, and I hope you let the air out of his tires after you quit.

No air but a good story and I scared the ever living shit out of him. 

I will just say I made him feel uncomfortable and unsafe in his little world he lives in away from work.

so copy and past the link

for those of you using the "if you don't like it leave" type of argument, how about the person that is wrong leaves or better yet, what is broken gets fixed.  you could use that argument for anything.  the laws aside, If my employer was beating us with whips and paying us a quarter per hour your solution would be "if you don't like it leave."

Well, you could always keep bitching. That's an option.

Work is a good thing dog

The first step in change is usually informing people and the second is getting support which is what I was trying to do.  It is very difficult for a single person to change public policy by themselves.

get a salary.  then work 80 hours a week and you won't have the option for overtime.  gets you over it quick-like

Yes, there are lots of things employers CAN do to you, but the overwhelming majority don't.  As I always say, companies who get unions are companies that deserve to get unions.  One of our "branches" made all of its employees work overtime on the day before July 4th this year.  Employees claimed it was "illegal."  It wasn't, but we paid them extra, bought them pizza and wrote up the manager who made the decision.  That's how you keep, and treat, good employees. 

While I appreciate the the comments made by MaineRoad the comments by Gunners quoted above is another example along the line of the "if you don't like it leave" argument.   His goes along the line of comparing something bad to something worse as a way to justify the bad thing.  Both fail to address the issue and instead denigrate the presenter or go off topic.  The question simply is to do you support employers who manipulate employee schedules to avoid the legal obligation to pay overtime rates?

I still don't get the problem like salty said there aren't many employers that want you working 10 days straight, but when it happens enjoy your 4 days off. Even if you dont get the 4 days off in a row you're still getting the 2 days off a week you're entitled to without overtime.It's better then having split days off.You go in knowing how the pay period is set up so it's not like they are surprising you. They are working within the meaning of the law what else do you want?