Overtime laws in the US, as far as I know, are a bit patchwork-like and vary a bit from state to state (and US labor law is generally not particularly worker friendly thanks to something called "at-will employment", but that's a separate story); however, if you're considered an non-exempt employee, then you can be asked/mandated to work overtime, but Federal law dictates you must be paid a premium for any of the overtime hours you work past 40 hours per week. Based on the description of the employment in question, it's non-exempt and any extra hours worked must be paid at the increased rate.alice wrote: ↑Mon Jan 26, 2026 2:49 pm This is bad mangement, not your fault. In this country in most jobs it is illegal to make employees work overtime; employers can ask, but must respect the employee's decision, in all circumstances, and cannot fire them for declining. Something similar should be in your contract. (Shouldn't it? USAians please clarify!)
And again, suppose that you're made to work longer hours than you're physically and mentally capable of, and you make a costly mistake as a result. Whose fault is that, in a USAian context?
Quite frankly, the labor law protections being a lot stronger in Europe was something that took a bit of getting used to and also was a huge culture shock when I moved back to the US after my stay in Germany and France. It might've been part of why I moved back a few years later... and why I see myself staying on this side of the Atlantic.
Random: I'm thinking of changing my handle next month to celebrate becoming a Luxembourger. (For those who don't know/weren't paying attention, I went from vampireshark to doctor shark after defending my Ph.D.; now I'm thinking of becoming either luxemshark or lëtzeshark in mid-February.) Feedback welcome, especially between the two options I'm thinking about. :P
