Abuse of exempt employees

I am employeed by a government agency.  I am classified as exempt.  there are other management positions classified as  special exempt.  They are compensated at the straight time rate for any hours worked over 8.5. As well as any hours worked on a scheduled day off.

It has become common practive to forbid  managers from bringing special exempt employees in to cover vacancies.  The exempt employees are required to perform the duties of several positions  for  weeks months and years they are vacant due to hiring freezes. The exempt employees are required to work six or seven days a week  anywhere from 60-90 hours per week.  I understand exempt status to perform your own position.  Covering several positions and being responsible for all  positions being done to a very high standard prohibits any  exempt employee to ever work less than 60 hours a week.

Senior management has stated the best hour is a free hour, refering to exempt employees working all of their days off and one more than one shift for free.

When you say you can not handle the workload of 4-5 positions you are cricized for  your time management skill.

There must be some recourse to stop the intentional abuse of  employees. I have worked in excess of 90 hour weeks. Due to my leadership position in this government  organization I feel I have no recourse I have asked for assistance and been denied. I am phyically and mentally exhauted.  I fear that any non compliance issue  I will be dealt severely for. I have been told so.  i have no choice but to fill as many vacancies myself or with the few exempt employees that are not on stress leave.

Sorry - what you describe is not illegal.

So how does being exempt differ from slavery exactly...? It seems to me if they can work you 24 hrs a day non stop, offer no breaks nor lunches and its all perfectly legal, then that hardly differs. In fact it sounds like there is nothing at all wrong with exempt employees even being asked to bring a pillow and sleeping bag and just stay at all times... And I guess this is all ok and legal because a person signs their life away when they sign on the dotted line... In effect there is no such legal concept of abuse of exempt employees in this context...

Again then how does exempt status really differ from slavery? Just seems like two words for the same meaning... Its just exempt does not seem or sound as bad so we use that term instead...

You can quit. Slaves couldn't.

You can walk away at any time.

Slaves could be killed and such.

If you are at a govt agency there's probably a grievance process.  Utilize that.

Employees have the power of contract, to obtain specific guarantees regarding employment.  Most employers have the advantage in that they can find plenty of workers who don't demand contractual guarantees.

So how does being exempt differ from slavery exactly...?

You can quit this job any time you like.

No one beats or tortures you.

Your family members can't be sold to others.  Once sold, you will never see them again.

You are paid.  You receive benefits. You get paid time off from work for rest and relaxation.

You get to live where you choose and have heat and indoor plumbing.

You can own property.

You get to choose where you want to work, who you want to work for, and what type of work you do.

You aren't covered with scars from being whipped.

It's a crime for someone to assault you.

You aren't forced by your "boss" to have sexual relations against your will.

Do I really need to go on???  If you aren't happy where you work, then find another job.  Slaves don't have that option.

Thats the only legal difference! LOL... That to me is BS, because it just makes it more implicit slavery rather then explicit. Now its more decentralized slavery, where you don't have to be in-slaved to the same master in the same location [centralized slavery], but now you MUST work for or die [less explicit and quick but the same will result] someone somewhere or fail to survive. So its the same threat just being leverage in a more decentralized manner. This distincition is laughable, it reminds me of playing symantics... LOL, Who ever came up with the idea of exempt must have been a slave owner in the past or decended from them or southern democrates or republicans...

It reminds me more of indentured servitude... Its now merely a matter of who or what your indentured too. And to say you can just quit is a cop out and only serves the slave owers logic. In reality people are behelden to scenarios, like family, bills or what have you and can not really just walk away. So they have you, just in a less centralized manner as in the past. Yes the slave owners today can't directly kill anymore, but they sure can help you not survive and put you on skid row and cause your family to starve, to me thats leverage enough to see just about zero diff between these concepts. The littel difference there is is like symantic differences, that are of an insignigicant meaning in real pratical terms. Centralized slavery yes is worse then decentralized slavery, but its really the same pattern of being behelden just somewhat more watered down... Haveing exempt status as part of the law of our land is an outrage and should be summerily challenged and ratified. You can quit. Slave couldn't? Its just a difference of who\what gets to kill you and how fast... Hardly a diff at all...!

You can quit this job any time you like.

Not without some consequence that could just be slower death or punishemnt...

No one beats or tortures you.

True, but you can be tortured in many many ways, like no sleep, no lunches, no breaks, worked 24 hours a day legal like and all...

Your family members can't be sold to others.  Once sold, you will never see them again. 

Again, true but family members can be forced to move or face peril financially or otherwise threaten survival just less directly as before in the past. Also you can be kept from your family being over worked, so again its just not as bad as NEVER see them.

You are paid.  You receive benefits. You get paid time off from work for rest and relaxation.

Yes this has improved, but normal slaves got to rest\sleep had free room and board and food all provided. Hence they were not to have to worry about that like we do, they had other concerns as we do, so its just better today, but not always for many people...

You get to live where you choose and have heat and indoor plumbing.

Minor diff, you still have to pick a master or starve and now you have to pay for you own loging, or risk survival another kind of indirect threat.

You can own property.

You didn't need to, but how free does it make you, now you just have to be beheldin to a master to make the mogage with exempt status being legal and all

You get to choose where you want to work, who you want to work for, and what type of work you do.

Yeah that just makes it more like decentralized slavery, but you still have to indenture or in-slave yourself only willingly which is even more sickening in its own way..!

You aren't covered with scars from being whipped.

Not physicall, but mental and emotional from all the stress of being beheldin to a scenario. Yes its not explicit as normal slavery but implicit slavery is only by degree less difficult to bear...

It's a crime for someone to assault you.

Physically yes, but your security is implicitily assaulted constantly, your family well being can be assaulted, by a subjective whim...

You aren't forced by your "boss" to have sexual relations against your will.

Not explicitly, but this kind of thing has not disapeared it just takes on new forms of expression... Less apt to getting caught or being obvious.

Do I really need to go on???  If you aren't happy where you work, then find another job.  Slaves don't have that option.

Either do I to tell you the truth or emperil my survival and risk not surviving, as well as my family. Which I protect and hence slave owners use that against me to maintain there hold on me and keep me exempt so they can work you for free as much as possible. Its just a way rich people have minipulated the law to serve their ends. Decntralized slavery is not as bad as explicity centralized slavery yes, but I think in the minds of many many people its a difference of degrees of expression of the concept of slavery or indentured servitude. And to some that is hardly even a difference

Paul...

Then start your own business.

Lovely idea, if only were as easy as saying it... The issue is most people like myself simply can not transition so we get behelden to chaos and implicit slavery... What steps need to be taken to abolish the exempt status concept in America? Legally?

A massive change in legislation on a state by state basis.

Speaking as an exempt employee, I would oppose it.

Why oppose, what benifit would you not get? Is it like saying, hey unless we can slave you around if we want, we can't\won't pay out  the big bucks? The big bucks should get paid anyway for talent and people should never get worked over 40 hrs without EXTRA compensation. [Look to FRANCE for examples of what to really do!] Like guarenteed make up hours off, for any over 40 at BARE minimum. Otherwords your like stock, we all come out equal at 40 hr's, but dip below I am stealing and conversly go above I am losing value or being stolen from... I opt for 30 hrs a week same pay as 40 for the law of the land no possible exemptions legal...

Conversely as things currenlty stand it would seem that under the law as an exempt employee you can get away with working only 20-30 hours a week and still expect to get paid in full. I mean employers expect the converse, so what would be wrong legally with only working 10 hrs and get full time pay as an exempt employee. Technically you would break no law if you worked zero hours yet still expect full pay. In this light exempt seems great... LOL We need to take away at will termination from employers [must have a real reason], but leave at will to the employees. Now thats fair to more people at large... The ones who really make it all work...

Slaves could run away, but that has similar results and the same kind antimotivational impact and quiting your job... Either can seriously imperil your chances for survival. Yes today we have slightly better chances, but thats the main diff... The others don't seem to way so heavy when seen in the right light...

If you want a system like France, move your butt there.  Don't impose it on the rest of us.

The Free Market should take care of this.  Horrible employers cannot keep employees and suffer extra costs.  If they cannot stay competitive they go out of business.

inuic:

what would be wrong legally with only working 10 hrs and get full time pay as an exempt employee.

Nothing, except the employer will fire you.

inuic:

Now thats fair to more people at large... The ones who really make it all work...

Now you are being socialist.  People died to avoid being sheep, but apparently that what you want.

Again, utilize your agency's grievance procedure.