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It all depends on the type of job, and if you're in the U.S., on the state you work in. The laws vary, but in California, companies can require their employees to work overtime, provided they pay proper wages. "Under most circumstances the employer may discipline an employee, up to and including termination, if the employee refuses to work scheduled overtime." The Fair Labor Standards Act established a 40-hour workweek and mandates that many employees must be paid time and a half for hours exceeding that limit. But there are a number of jobs that don't qualify for overtime pay. Commissioned salespeople, computer professionals,
many employees of car dealerships, some seasonal workers, airline employees, live-in domestic workers, movie theater employees, newspaper deliverers, taxi drivers, workers on small farms, and a number of others don't have to be paid extra for working overtime. Also, the law only applies to hourly workers, so anyone who is paid a salary can be asked to work as many hours as needed. Executive, administrative, and managerial positions are usually salaried. As the Seattle Times notes, professional salaried jobs have grown in the past few decades. About 50 million Americans aren't eligible for overtime, so salaried employees are working longer hours without compensation. In many corporate
cultures, it's an expected part of the job. An excellent NPR interview discusses how companies such as United Airlines and Verizon are actually encouraging overtime work, because it's relatively inexpensive for the company when compared to the cost of hiring new employees.
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