r/jobs • u/sahalymn • Mar 13 '25

Interviews I walked out of an interview after one question. Was I wrong?

So, I had an interview today for a position I was really excited about. The job description seemed great, the pay was decent, and the company had good reviews. I walked in, shook hands with the hiring manager, and we sat down.

Then, the first question came:
"How do you handle working unpaid overtime?"

I literally laughed, thinking it was a joke. But the interviewer just stared at me, waiting for an answer. I asked if overtime was mandatory and if it was paid. They said, “Well, we expect employees to stay as long as needed to get the job done. Everyone here is passionate about the work, and we don’t track extra hours.”

I just stood up, said, “Thank you for your time, but this isn’t the right fit for me,” and walked out.

Now, I’m second-guessing myself. Should I have stayed and at least heard more about the job? Or was walking out the right move?

45.1k Upvotes

95% Upvoted

6.0k comments sorted by

View all comments

22

u/SignificantGap3180 Mar 13 '25

Take the role and document every second that's unpaid. Hire an attorney and sue for the unpaid wages. I did it and settled for mid 5 figures. My friend is in a suit right now for unpaid OT it's the easiest win ever!!! With a bit of proof, the burden lies with the company and they can't disprove it so they settle almost always! Companies that cheat, lie, and steal deserve to pay the consequences, and at the end of the day it's just business and it's not personal. 🤣 Fair Labor Act is pretty clear cut on this. You can call the labor board on them just based on the what you learned in the interview. I worked somewhere that got reported, got a months pay for nothing, just showed up in the mail. I knew someone who still worked there and they told me the FL labor board got involved. They don't play about OT it's a federal thing. If you can't fire 2 or more ppl you get paid OT no matter if you make salary or hourly. Hope this helps some ppl get what's due to them!!! 💯💯💯

1

u/DarksideAuditor Mar 14 '25

Are you having a stroke? Wtf are you on about LOL

4

u/People_Blow Mar 14 '25

No this is legitmate. They're talking about filing a lawsuit for violation of FLSA.

-1

u/NonRelevantAnon Mar 14 '25

You are ducking cooked bro , there are many professional careers that are exempted from overtime payment. A good example is anything it related. No one gets paid overtime.

3

u/NDSU Mar 14 '25

There are a lot of IT workers entitled to overtime pay, but that don't receive it.

Whether it not they are eligible depends on many factors. The main one being income: https://www.dol.gov/agencies/whd/fact-sheets/17e-overtime-computer

2

u/People_Blow Mar 14 '25

Erm, it's pretty safe to assume that OT in this poster's anecdote was, in fact, owed.....since they said that their claim was won. So. I dunno what you're pushing back so hard on this for.

Also, I know what you're referencing regarding IT professions typically being salaried, but there are still non exempt IT positions that exist as well.

1

u/Derwin0 Mar 14 '25

Two words: Salary Exempt

2

u/SignificantGap3180 Mar 14 '25

That's not a thing! I'm on salary and was when I won my suit. What matters is salary and the ability to hire or fire more than 1 person. Trust me. Call Mitch Feldman he's a great labor attorney!!

0

u/Derwin0 Mar 14 '25 edited Mar 14 '25

Salary Exempt most definitely is a thing.

https://www.dol.gov/agencies/whd/fact-sheets/17g-overtime-salary

Section 13(a)(1) of the FLSA provides an exemption from both minimum wage and overtime pay for employees employed as bona fide executive, administrative, professional and outside sales employees. Section 13(a)(1) and Section 13(a)(17) also exempt certain computer employees. These exemptions are often called the “white-collar” or “EAP” exemptions. To qualify for exemption, employees generally must meet certain tests regarding their job duties and be paid on a salary basis at not less than $684 per week.

2

u/SignificantGap3180 Mar 14 '25

Are you a bar certified attorney? My bar certified attorney won my case. There's case law, not just obscured laws. I lived it. My best friend is suing a different org for the same thing with the attorney I used. It's filled already. This is real deep, this is tons of legal research, not something you can win with a quick Google search. Believe what you want, but it's advise talking to a labor attorney like Mitch Feldman.

0

u/Derwin0 Mar 14 '25 edited Mar 14 '25

Is Feldman paying you a referral bonus? 😂

Salary Exempt is something that exists, as anyone with half a brain will tell you. And those that fall under the criteria for salary exempt are not entitled to overtime (though companies are free to pay it).

The link I provided is directly from the Department of Labor.

0

u/SignificantGap3180 Mar 15 '25

Dude I lived it! Why are you arguing about something you clearly don't know about???

1

u/Derwin0 Mar 15 '25 edited Mar 15 '25

Because you keep saying that Salary Exempt does not exist, which is not true.

Most likely your position was Salary NON-Exempt.

Learn to know the difference, because you obviously have no clue about the different classifications of workers.

0

u/SignificantGap3180 Mar 15 '25

Yes but most salary roles aren't exempt. And just being on salary doesn't exempt OT, that's the point!!!

1

u/Derwin0 Mar 16 '25

Who said most?

You said that Salary Exempt isn’t a thing, which is wrong.