Q: Am I being forced to work for free without realizing I am?
I have been employed by Walmart since January of 2018 and I have ran this question through my head countless of times and finally realize something isn't right. Like many other corporate companies they are focused on profit and anyway of making a bigger one. Needless to say overtime is the number one NO-NO unless it's authorized through the CEO himself. With that being said you are only to work your scheduled hours, nothing more unless approved and don't go over 40. Here is where my question comes in. Any minute we work over sometimes even being asked to we have to cut those hours by taking a longer lunch to balance it out. Managers have access to whats called a WOSH (Worked over scheduled hours) report and that shows the time employees have worked over their time. Management then tells you to cut that time each week, but wouldn't that be working for free if we have to cut the time we stayed over to work just to lose it?
A: Not sure that I completely understand what you are asking or why you think this is working for free. The wage and hour law requires an employer to pay an employee for all time worked unless the employees is salaried exempt. If you work over a scheduled shift or ending time, but your hours are reduced at other times to compensate, then there has been no work for free. Your scheduled shift or work hours has no impact on the wage and hour law which is only concerned with making certain you are compensated for hours actually worked by non-exempt employees.
Justia Ask a Lawyer is a forum for consumers to get answers to basic legal questions. Any information sent through Justia Ask a Lawyer is not secure and is done so on a non-confidential basis only.
The use of this website to ask questions or receive answers does not create an attorney–client relationship between you and Justia, or between you and any attorney who receives your information or responds to your questions, nor is it intended to create such a relationship. Additionally, no responses on this forum constitute legal advice, which must be tailored to the specific circumstances of each case. You should not act upon information provided in Justia Ask a Lawyer without seeking professional counsel from an attorney admitted or authorized to practice in your jurisdiction. Justia assumes no responsibility to any person who relies on information contained on or received through this site and disclaims all liability in respect to such information.
Justia cannot guarantee that the information on this website (including any legal information provided by an attorney through this service) is accurate, complete, or up-to-date. While we intend to make every attempt to keep the information on this site current, the owners of and contributors to this site make no claims, promises or guarantees about the accuracy, completeness or adequacy of the information contained in or linked to from this site.
