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Fighting for Your Overtime?
Papa Legba asks: "I am in a battle, with a now ex-employer, over the unpaid overtime that I incurred while working in their IT department. I refused to accept the answer 'you are a computer guy, you don't get overtime' and did some looking. My research has turned up these relevant documents: the definition of exempt Computer professional at section 13(a)(17) of the FLSA managed by the Department of Labor, the amendments in the ESA labeled C.F.R.541.3(a)(4) and C.F.R.541.303 , and a site referring to a letter, which I cannot find a copy of. The letter describes a Dept. of Labor ruling from December 4, 1998 that set out who qualifies as a computer professional. Can anyone find this letter, and is there any more documents that I am missing. I have a lawyer but this is a very specific area and I want to do this right. Has anyone else fought this battle?"
At first, I thought you were just trolling, but as I read you're comment, I realized you're serious, just being naieve.
You're right, you should be loyal to the company, as long as that loyalty is returned. But when you work overtime for months & years on end without getting paid, where does that loyalty end? The original poster said in a later follow-up that he was owed in the neighborhood of $30,000. Once the company owes you five digits of back pay, all bets are off, it's time to get a lawyer. If they're willing to give you an equivalent amount of comp time, and that is alright with you, then fine (though if you're an hourly worker, comp time is actually illegal in at least some states). But you should feel no obligation to take comp time if you don't want to. And of course, in this case, it's irrelevant: as he stated in the original article, he no longer works for the company. It's hard to take time off from a job that he no longer holds.