December 9, 2009, 03:30:00PM. By Jane Mundy

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Carmel, CA: Demanding overtime compensation is a tough call in this economic climate—yet many employees believe they risk termination if they don't work long hours. Robin, a salaried employee, was asked to work 80-hour weeks while the company was "going through hard times." Robin believes his employer used these hard times as an excuse to avoid paying overtime compensation and circumvent California Labor Law.

"Our manager told us that we were going through hard times, this was a downturn and we all had to work as a team…"

Robin knew his job would entail long hours, but 80 hours a week was pushing the limit. At what point could he tell his boss that he just can't take it anymore?

"I was hired as a field service engineer and covered the northwest, from Alaska to Arizona, servicing and maintaining medical equipment," says Robin. "The guy who I replaced had a mental breakdown because it was way too many hours. In hindsight I should have seen the writing on the wall…

"I've been working 80-hour weeks since I started in October 2006, and so have my co-workers. We asked them for overtime and flexible time off, but no dice. Instead, our hours were divided into two sections: direct and indirect time. Direct time means the time we physically repaired the equipment (medical equipment in hospitals) and indirect time refers to tracking our travel time, doing our expense and service reports, etc.

"Then we had to learn how to give service contracts on systems to customers. Why are we doing this? We are on salary and already working overtime on our regular jobs--it means even more unpaid overtime hours for us engineers.

"We talked amongst ourselves and complained to our manager about unpaid overtime and the California labor code. He told us that we were going through hard times, this was a downturn and we all had to work as a team and get this equipment in running order.

"My manager hinted that I should file a complaint with the California labor board but he was trying to arrange a meeting with other staff members so that we could file a labor complaint against the company together. He was on our side but his hands were tied.

"Somehow they knew I was getting a lawyer for my overtime complaint. I was a loyal employee with this company, but I was terminated on November 2, 2009. Their excuse: they did a six-month audit and found a few discrepancies on my expense reports. But all along my manager signed every report and approved them. Why wasn't he fired if this was the reason to fire me?

"I filed with the Employment Development Department (EDD) and I can get some compensation. I don't know whether I should file a California Labor Law complaint because I am also concerned about getting a new job. If a potential employer finds out that I have filed a labor violation, maybe they would be reluctant to hire me.

"I guess my former employer is counting on that. I feel that I'm in between a rock and a hard place: it is hard to put a price on what they owe me but I lost my family and invested all my time in that company. Looking back I would never have taken this job and the company should understand that they shouldn't push people to the brink.

"I'm not 100 percent sure that a new employer would know if I have filed a labor complaint: if there is no way of knowing, I want to seek legal help and file a claim against this company…"

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