Looking for a Labor Lawyer...

[two shoes]

I don't think the OP's friend is going to get anywhere on the firing ... he's fired and that's that ... however he could get back payed for the unpaid OT.

Zundfolge, you are right, being a right to work state, not likely to get anywhere. The company made all of the working employees salary, and it was only for 40 hours, not the 45 I had thought. I forget the title they had. I will have him contact the labor department. He has all of his time cards for the last 3 years.

I really appreciate all of the comments guys. This was a sucky deal, for sure, with his wife having a baby tomorrow and Christmas on Saturday. I was going to pick him up from dropping off his company vehicle, but they called just before we left and they are going to have someone (a trusted friend of his) pick it with his tools.

[Sparky]

In my experience skip the state labor department. They do nothing but send letters telling employer to comply. Go straight to the federal department of labor. They have investigators who can go out and make employers open their books and do an audit. Takes some time, but if he is deserved money they can get it. I have been down this road and it sucks.

[68Charger]

I will have him contact the labor department. He has all of his time cards for the last 3 years.

This is a giant red flag- can't require that exempt employees clock in/out... we have a timesheet reporting system online at my work, but it allowed me to put in less than 40hrs- with no effect on my paycheck... back when I was exempt.

Then they decided to convert us to hourly, since AT&T was getting ther A$$ sued off for similar positions where they broke the labor laws for exempt employees. Been hourly since- but OT is not authorized. They use different online timesheet systems for hourly vs exempt.

Another red flag is requiring a specific start/stop time...

Those are the 2 that nailed Alyeska pipeline, IIRC... and as a bonus, the timesheets they made my father fill out were a perfect record to figure out how much back OT they owed...

[two shoes]

This is a giant red flag- ...
Those are the 2 that nailed Alyeska pipeline, IIRC... and as a bonus, the timesheets they made my father fill out were a perfect record to figure out how much back OT they owed...

WOW, I am glad that he had every one since he went "exempt". Thanks again for the input.

[BushMasterBoy]

Complain to the United States Department of Labor. I got a letter from them and a nice check from the company that cheated me. It was in 1986.


http://www.dol.gov/

[10x]

A company cannot just compel everyone to be an exempt employee.
There are definitions in the Wage and Hours act that designate what an exempt employee can and cannot be. If your friend's job duties and responsibilities do not match, he is really non exempt and entitled to overtime. I would really question the legality of all employees being exempt.

In Colorado an employee can be terminated for any reason at any time except if it is for discrimination as defined in Federal law, age over 40, sex, religion, national origin. The employee is entitled to unemployment compensation. If discrimination, the employee would be entitled to damages and/or getting the equivalent job back

Now retired, I was a Chief Financial Officer with personnel reporting to me.

Take a look in the phone book for attorneys in your area specializing in this type of work.