Proposed four 10hr work day schedule

[The G Man]

Jurisdiction

California

My company is offering all non exempt employees an option to vote in a 4 day work week , the ballot is secret but yet it has a number on it. Attached is a copy of the ballot , of interest or suspect is option #3 , does this seam like a legit offer and am I overthinking this. What is troubling is in respect to no overtime . Also they say if a holiday falls on your 10 scheduled work day you only get 8 hrs pay and would have to use your PTO time to make up the lost 2 hours or do makeup time. Please advise if someone can I just want to be ok with it if it legit. Regards

 

[Tax Counsel]

My company is offering all non exempt employees an option to vote in a 4 day work week , the ballot is secret but yet it has a number on it. Attached is a copy of the ballot , of interest or suspect is option #3 , does this seam like a legit offer and am I overthinking this. What is troubling is in respect to no overtime . Also they say if a holiday falls on your 10 scheduled work day you only get 8 hrs pay and would have to use your PTO time to make up the lost 2 hours or do makeup time. Please advise if someone can I just want to be ok with it if it legit. Regards

You listed your state as California and that's important because California has more strict requirements for overtime than federal law does. In particular California overtime rules say that the general rule is that employees are entitled to overtime for hours worked over 40 in the work week (like federal law does) but also when you work more than 8 hours in a work day (which is not a requirement under federal law). So the options provided in that ballot that would have you working more than 8 hours in a day but not get over time for the time over the 8 hours would violate California law unless the employer meets some exemption in the law. The link I provided doesn't go into all the exemptions and I've not researched them all. You might want to ask the California Department of Industrial Relations (DIR) if there is any way the employer can have those proposed schedules and not have to pay overtime for the time over 8 hours in a work day. Check out DIR office locations and phone numbers for help with that. Note that in California if the OT rules do apply to those extra hours it is not possible for the employees to waive that OT. So if you vote for the flex options on the ballot and the employer is subject to the OT rules the employer will have to pay you the OT even though the employees voted for it.

Are you a member of a union and is the union authorizing this vote? That perhaps might make a difference here.

If you don't work in California then it is important to know in what state you do work.

 

[cbg]

It's been a very, very long time since I did Payroll at all and it's even longer since I did Payroll for California, but I seem to recall that a 4 day, 10 hour workweek with no overtime for those 10 hour days can be established in CA if that schedule is voted on by the employees. I do not recall whether a union needs to be involved and I do not have time at the moment to go looking for it; perhaps someone else will know or I can look later in the day.

 

[PayrollHRGuy]

There is an exception in CA law for the 4, 10-hour day schedule. Option 3 may be in violation of that exception.

While not illegal I'd have a problem with the PTO rule simply because it isn't fair to the employee.

 

[adjusterjack]

Also they say if a holiday falls on your 10 scheduled work day you only get 8 hrs pay and would have to use your PTO time to make up the lost 2 hours or do makeup time.

They say?

But that's not in the ballot. The ballot only says no "overtime wages" which implies that straight time should be paid for the extra two hours.

As much as I like a 3 day weekend every week, I'd have to vote that down until there was some clarification.

 

[Tax Counsel]

While not illegal I'd have a problem with the PTO rule simply because it isn't fair to the employee.

But the PTO issue isn't on the ballot, so the OP is apparently not being given an option to vote on that.

 

[PayrollHRGuy]

But the PTO issue isn't on the ballot, so the OP is apparently not being given an option to vote on that.

I fully understand that. The OP mentioned it and I wanted to address that it sucked but wasn't illegal.

 

[army judge]

What is troubling is in respect to no overtime . Also they say if a holiday falls on your 10 scheduled work day you only get 8 hrs pay and would have to use your PTO time to make up the lost 2 hours or do makeup time. Please advise if someone can I just want to be ok with it if it legit.

Some employers believe they are too clever for their own good.



As suggested by @Tax Counsel & @PayrollHRGuy it is time to reach out to the State of California's Department of Industrial Relations.

Once you've filed the claim, don't say anything to your co-workers, supervisor, or management about this issue.

Good luck.

This is their website:

Division of Labor Standards Enforcement (DLSE)

 

[mightymoose]

What you describe sounds common to me.
I would expect employees would be enticed enough by having 3 days off that occasionally having to use 2 hours PTO is insignificant.
The same issue often happens during a time change when employees get shorted an hour. They have to make it up the same way.

I don't see anything shady here.