Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with salary

What metrics are sales professionals guided by?

Anonymous — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 08:27:00 -0800

What metrics are sales professionals guided by? Working with my sales manager to help redefine how inside and outside salespeople should be compensated and reviewed.

Everything from leadership to new accounts to call metrics to closed business... how does your business (or your competitors) judge the success of your sales force?

[Also, if you have any articles of interest or website recommendations, it would be just as valuable.]

Fair salary for a "Usability Testing Assistant"

the jam — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 12:42:15 -0800

Asking for a friend: I've been offered a position as a "Usability Testing Assistant" at an established, medium-sized (50-75 employees) web company, and now I need to provide them with salary requirements. In this position, I would report directly to the Usability Testing Director. My responsibilities would include recruiting test participants, running all tests, and communicating to the company's developers insights and feedback from the tests. I've found salary ranges for a "Usability Tester" (60k-70k), but I'm not sure if that would directly apply to me, or if this position would be considered more junior. What is an appropriate salary range for my new position? Concrete numbers or links for more research would be much appreciated!

What do commercial actors get paid?

arm426 — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 14:53:05 -0800

What do actors in nationally televised commercials typically get paid? Do they get paid each time it airs or a flat fee up front? An example: An actor in a Flomax commercial...he's on TV probably once every hour--if he's getting paid per air, he's probably raking it in...I just have absolutely no context for what he'd get paid. I guess if people know how the salary might differ for just voiceover, that'd be helpful too.

Deflated by inflation

Anonymous — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 14:05:50 -0800

[Economics101Filter] How is it that the cost of living can go up, but salaries stay the same? Economics n00b questions inside. I've been away from the States for about 10 years. I come back, and am naturally shocked by how much more expensive everything has become. (FWIW, I live in NYC.) For instance, a diner meal for me was always under $10; now, breakfast is easily $15.

I was lucky enough to be able to land a job right away in my old sector. I was shocked a second time when I saw that salaries, as well as vendor costs, have stayed _exactly_ the same. (E.g., the average project/account manager's salary is around 50K - precisely the level I was at as a 3-year "veteran" when I left 10 yrs ago.)

Question: how does this work, exactly? Are people just living shittier lives? Eating out less (but this is New York!) Is this true across different sectors? Or is it just endemic to my sector? Will it eventually balance out? Is it just a sign of the times? Please enlighten this economics n00b!

(Anonymous because I feel too stupid asking these questions, and also because I don't want to announce my salary level to the entire world.)

Do I apply for a lower-level position?

NotSoSimple — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 12:02:28 -0800

Hate my boss, like my job. Local county notified me of two positions available I previously was interested in. Do I go? Complication: Child on the way. Have been at this job for just over 5 months. Job title is 'Systems Administrator' but it is a hybrid as I am the only IT guy for 3 locations and 75% of the work force. Great experience, great job, but I hate my boss. I was notified that the county has two positions open that I previously applied for but did not follow through due to my current position. They are entry level (Possibly boring?) but the starting pay is more than I make now. Currently at $40k/Year, and the new positions start at $42k and $44k. I hate having to be the new guy, and I am afraid I am suffering from 'The grass is greener'. I would also be back on the bottom and have to work my way up which is a bummer. Current company has potential of great growth (We are hiring ~10 per month and no stopping in site) but my management is failing on promises of increased IT staffing, comp time, etc.

Complication: We are expecting our first child in December and I am paranoid something will happen and I will not be able to provide financially. My wife also works at the same company as I (Different job title and department) but is a newer employee so no paid maternity leave, and is hourly.

Do I try out for the County jobs? I used to do Search and Rescue and LOVED the interaction with local law enforcement/government. I would be more receptive to staying at my current place if I was offered more money, but that dosnt look like it would happen. I DO NOT want to get fired by trying to have them match salary.

Moving From Public to Private Sector and Getting Paid

Anonymous — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 18:33:09 -0800

How can I transition from a public-sector web job to a private-sector job and get a good private-sector salary? I'm a web developer with over 10 years experience in the industry, and I've been working as a web application developer in a Bay Area university for the last seven years. I develop web applications and content management systems, and I have experience in information architecture, graphic design, and copy editing.

I'm looking for a private-sector job due to budget cuts making the university position untenable. I see a lot of web developer positions in my area and the salaries range from the mid-80s to mid-90s and up depending on the position.

I had an interview recently for a web manager position that required a considerably broader range of responsibilities, and they tried to lowball me by offering low 90s when I knew the position had been listed online starting at 100K. They asked how much I currently make; I eventually told them (77K) even though I don't feel it's relevant because:

* Private-sector jobs pay more than public-sector jobs so they aren't directly comparable.

* This job has more responsibilities than web developer jobs that pay in the range they mentioned.

* I don't make what the university's salary guidelines say I should be making for someone with my experience. I initially started as a temporary employee and my initial salary and two increases (over seven years) were based on a low starting salary.

What other arguments can I use? I know switching jobs is the best time to get a substantial salary increase, and I don't want to start a new job feeling like I'm not being paid what I'm worth.

An acceptable answer to a salary inquiry?

Anonymous — Mon, 07 Sep 2009 16:36:47 -0800

How do I respond to an interviewers salary questions? In just a few days I have an interview with another company. From past experiences I know that at some point I will be asked what I currently make. This normally wouldn't be a problem but I am hesitant to do so with this interview.

I know that in this new but similar role you generally make at least 20k more than what I make now. That's a fact. What I fear is that I may low-ball myself and drastically reduce my earning potential if I tell them, even though I am just as qualified as everyone else. This is assuming everything goes well and I get an offer.

Should I not answer with a number and just tell them it's negotiable?

Should I exaggerate my current salary to something closer to their standards?

Right now I am leaning towards the negotiable option but it's not set in stone.

How do I negotiate salary?

schroedinger — Sat, 05 Sep 2009 16:42:47 -0800

Negotiating salary. What? How? Do I email? Phone? Accept the offer, and then negotiate? And what wording do I use to not sound like a dick? All right, I got offered a job! However, I'd like to negotiate the salary to get maybe $1-2/hour more. Here are details:

- The HR director sent me the email on Thursday, and was out Friday, back on Tuesday
- I have not officially accepted the offer yet
- The position is entry-level

Things in my favor:
1) I am hardworking, a good employee, good references, blah blah, but I'm guessing this will not sway them as I haven't worked there yet
2) I am considering other offers that pay $3-4/hour more than what this job has offered me
3) I know for a fact the guy who worked the job before me, who had similar credentials, was paid the salary I'm asking. Before [i]him[/i] they paid someone $3/hour more than that (though that person had much better credentials than I do).

Things not in my favor:
1) This job is entry-level
2) I do not have direct job experience in this exact area

I'm not sure how this negotiation will work. Do I send an email that says "I would like the job, but could you give me more money" just to acknowledge the offer as quickly as possible? Do I wait until Tuesday and call to say the same thing? Do I accept the offer by email, then call to negotiation on Tuesday? Do I accept the offer with HR and negotiate the salary with my would-be supervisor? I have no experience in this area whatsoever. I don't want to leave the offer hanging over the weekend, but I also have read it's improper to negotiate by email.

Also, what specific language would you recommend so I don't sound greedy?

What's the typical pay difference when going from contract to perm?

mgarnhum — Thu, 27 Aug 2009 06:15:42 -0800

What's the typical pay difference when going from contract to perm? I am in negotiations to go permanent from a contract position. How much of decrease in pay am I looking at? I've read about 30%, but I'd almost rather stay with contract if this is the case. I have insurance through my husband, so that's not a necessity. The only real benefit would be vacation and ST/LT disability and life.

I have never been in this position before, so I'm not sure how it works.

Pay for Flex?

drjimmy11 — Mon, 24 Aug 2009 19:58:42 -0800

What, anecdotally speaking, are Flex developers getting paid right now in Los Angeles or a similar city? I have been to the salary calculators and such, they tend to come back with a number up around $120k or so- but I'm not sure how "real world" that is. I'm a Flex developer with about 2 years experience in Flex, and 10 years programming overall. I consider myself an expert in Flex/AS3 (have written my own framework, used all the major ones, can explain their strengths and weaknesses, and stuff like that).

I'm interested in knowing, if I put myself on the market tomorrow, what salary could I expect to find in Los Angeles for full-time? How about as a consultant? How high is the demand, really? Mostly just looking for anecdotes, but hard data is welcome if it's more specific than those generic salary calculators.

Thanks!

Do advances exist?

Anonymous — Wed, 29 Jul 2009 15:49:32 -0800

Is it possible to get an advance in salary (that is, an early paycheck) when just starting a job? I have been unemployed since I graduated from college this spring, although I started looking and applying for jobs much earlier. After a string of setbacks, I've interviewed at a couple of jobs, and I feel really good about them to the point where I truly feel that I could be on the verge of getting an offer. Although nothing has set in stone yet, this has given rise to a new problem.

Right now, I'm in dire straits financially. Were I to be hired, I currently have just enough money to get me to and from work for the first week, if that. I'm trying to change that by selling my old things, but I'm not sure if that will make a big enough dent. I would ask my parents to borrow from them if I needed too, but they have their own troubles.

So what I was wondering was this: if I get a job and it turns out my paycheck isn't weekly, or if it turns out that I won't be getting money for a while, would it be possible for me to receive part of my salary before the first check--say, after the first week, and that amount can be deducted from the check I'd get later? For the record: I'm not expecting money before I start, and these are normal, salary-based positions I've been applying for, as opposed to commission-based ones. Will companies do this? When should I ask?

I know I haven't gotten an offer yet, and I may not get one for these jobs, but it's such a pressing issue that I felt I might as well ask for future reference. Thanks!

Help me negotiate a simple salary

Anonymous — Tue, 28 Jul 2009 07:06:09 -0800

We are talking small beans here, but it's my beans, so please hear me out... I'm an ESL teacher/tutor with 3 undergrad degrees, certification through Oxford and 5 years experience. I have been offered a job in Shanghai. Included is a small apartment (in Puxi), free meals whenever I want them, transportation unless visiting outside the city, round trip airfare to the US every 10 months, high-speed internet, and a number of other similar perks.
I have been asked to 'name' a desired salary.
Going in I'm pretty sure what ever I ask for will be bartered down, only because that's the way the game is played in China.
I don't much care about the 'going rate' as I teach not only English, but history and science as well, and am in my 40's, well-travelled, and bring a lot more to the table than a teaching cert from Oxford.
However, I don't want to be so outlandish as to ask for an impossible amount.
I am thinking $1000 USD a month as a minimum.
When I last taught in China, I made about 400. That was in a village, and in pretty much third-word circumstances.
Any suggestions? Again, this amount, while very low, is a heck of a lot in China. And my only expenses out-of-pocket will be entertainment, necessities such as occasional clothing, toiletries, travel, and other incidentals.
Essentially, 75% of what I make will be more than I need to live an OK lifestyle.
But again...I'm tired of being the guy who always settles for less. Getting older. No savings to speak of. Own nothing much. And I'm OK with all that...
Sorry to ramble and make, I'm sure, numerous mistakes here, but the deadline is looming and I'm way over thinking this deal.
Honest advice from a stranger or two is what I need.
email fatbackncollards at gmail...
or, preferably, try to give yr two cents here :)

How can I find out how much I'm worth?

Flying Squirrel — Fri, 17 Jul 2009 08:28:26 -0800

How can I find out how much I'm worth for negotiating with recruitment agencies? I have recently relocated to Melbourne and am looking for work. Previously, I worked as a communications advisor for a large government agency in New Zealand.

I sent a resumes to a few recruitment agencies and within a day I have had one interview and a couple others set up.

I have been searching for a site with salary information for communications roles but haven't found what I'm looking for.

I have been hired through an agency before. I'd rather not go this way but I'm on a 1 year visa and believe this is the best way at getting my foot in the door towards a more permanent position.

I'll have to start negotiating on Monday as I already have a job offer. If anyone can point me in the right direction that would be great!

Unemployment Benefits and Turning Down a Job Offer

Anonymous — Mon, 13 Jul 2009 18:58:33 -0800

My state's unemployment regulations have a section indicating that turning down a job offer is grounds for terminating benefits. Given that at this point, I'm not being asked to provide them with any data as to whom I'm applying, and given the extraordinarily large number of people on the unemployment rolls, am I correct in saying that turning down an offer really has little practical chance of getting back to them? (I should also note this is theoretical at this point. I'm not yet dealing with an actual job offer.)

going from salary to hourly without benefits... should i ask employer for a higher wage?

dityfleur — Mon, 13 Jul 2009 12:38:28 -0800

going from salary to hourly without benefits... do I have a choice? should i ask for a higher wage?my firm is really slow, so my employers are changing me from salary to hourly... basically, as work comes in, i will get paid for the hours i bill. they are also eliminating my benefits package (heath/dental/vision/401k). i am not sure what my workload will be like, but i was typically working 40 hours/week and might be working less than 20. (i plan to compensate with unemployment if i have to.) i have spoken with people outside my field (architecture) and they say it is typical in this situation to get an increase in your hourly wage around 10-15% to compensate for the decrease in hours as well as the loss of benefits. i am looking into other job opportunities, but most firms are in the same boat and hoping to keep the employees they have…

has anyone had a similar experience? if a company is eliminating a lot of their overhead in this manner, is it ok to ask for an increase in this case? i know i don't really have any leverage, except for a good review record and +3.5 years experience with the company. any thoughts?

thanks!

CA Labor Law: Salary to hourly demotion

jenmakes — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 13:16:12 -0800

CA Labor Law: A friend has been demoted from salaried to hourly after giving notice. Is this illegal? He thinks there may have been a law passed a few years ago banning a salary to hourly demotion. True? My friend was a kitchen manager with no hiring/firing power (in California); he gave notice last month and planned to leave at the beginning of August. Now with about a month to go, he has been demoted to his former position of Line Cook and his pay has decreased and gone from salaried to hourly. There has been no complaint against work.

The person taking over his kitchen manager job has simultaneously been upgraded to salaried and is in training for the new position. His boss essentially just did a switch-a-roo between the two workers.

My friend thinks this may be illegal in CA (possibly a new-ish law). If it is illegal, is there a .gov website that clearly states the law?

How much should I feel I should be paid?

NemesisVex — Fri, 26 Jun 2009 11:31:26 -0800

How do I determine how much I should be paid? Or perhaps, how do I determine how much I feel I should be paid? Long explanation, of course. I know I am currently being grossly underpaid. I chose to be so. I started working for my current company in 2003 in a position not related to my experience, but my position was changed to match that experience a year later.

At first, I didn't mind the pay disparity because I wanted to work at a stable company when the next economic downturn happened, and boy am I glad I did.

I'm a LAMP developer, but I also know PERL and XML/XSLT. I've done coursework in JAVA and C++, but I've never had to use them in this position. While I'm not a front-end development rock star, I do know my way around JavaScript, HTML and CSS. From my perspective, I'm fairly run-of-the-mill as far as web developers go.

And I believe that is my problem -- I don't know how to gauge my skills against anyone else. I can't tell if I'm really run-of-the-mill or better than average or even beyond that or below that.

(See my profile for a link to my music project website, which I built almost from scratch. That reflects the kind of work of which I'm capable.)

I'm the only person in my department with these skills, and I build mostly internal tools -- nothing that's accessible to the public. In reality, my skill-level from around 2003 is more than enough for the department.

In reality, I don't think I've ever really known what a person with my skills ought to be making. I got into web development because I got sick of content production.

I paid for a personal salary report on Salary.com, and according to that report, I'm making 43 percent less than the estimated minimum of what it says I should make in my market (Austin, TX).

I'm somewhat skeptical of this report, and this comment from a question in 2006 reinforces it a little. (That question is the closest I could find to mine when I searched. Also, I am not going to post my salary figure because I do not want to post anonymously.)

I don't feel I have a good perspective on what I'm making because I'm pretty much an island. In the context of my office, I feel like I ought to get top dollar, especially with all the glowing employee reviews I get. But I have friends who are far, far better -- and much more conscientious about development -- than I am.

In the distant future, I want to close the disparity in my pay, but first, I want to get a sense of how accurate -- or inaccurate -- my perception is.

Movin on up

Anonymous — Wed, 24 Jun 2009 21:32:03 -0800

I just got a raise. Yay! So here's my question: how good is it? Will a raise of this size make my life more comfortable? Nitty gritty details (lots of numbers!) inside. I work in print media in New York City. This is the first raise I have ever received in my life. I'm excited about it, as I pretty much live paycheck to paycheck, so every little bit helps. My salary history:

2006: $34,000 as a marketing manager for an arts organization in Boston.¹
2007: $30,000 as an entry-level assistant at a print media company in NYC.
2008: $32,500 when I switched companies. Still an assistant, but for a more important person, and I work on my own projects, too.
2009: $34,500 — the raise! No change in responsibilities, just more money. (I've actually only been at this company for 9 months; not a full year.) I'm finally back to the salary I had three years ago in the job I hated (though, considering the benefits at that job were practically nonexistent, I probably effectively reached that point a while ago).

So, is a 6.15% raise a good raise? Average? Piddling? I have no idea. Will an extra $2,000 ($166/month) actually have any effect on my quality of living? What do you think, MeFi?

¹My first job straight out of college. It sucked. I quit and moved to New York.

How would I go about asking for a salary increase in my yearly review?

decrescendo — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 17:39:46 -0800

How would I go about asking for a salary increase in my yearly review? I came in to this job as the #2 guy on a 2-person contract and then the #1 guy (my supervisor and project manager) quit. I'm now project manager and the only one on site. I feel like I should receive some sort of corresponding raise with this increase in responsibility. I've been working for a small employee-owned defense contractor since I graduated from college with an aerospace engineering degree in May of 2007. I worked in a different area of the country with this same company until I decided that I wanted to move to DC. I told my company I was going to look for a job in DC and they surprisingly ended up offering me a position in DC that I considered to be out of my league at the time. This position made me the "2nd string guy" out of 2 guys working on-site at a very large, high-visibility Department of Defense program office. I'm honestly in a little over my head due to the scale of this program and the type of working I'm doing but I feel like I'm doing a great job given my age and experience.

The old #1 guy on this project (my supervisor and the project manager) was a retired Marine Corp officer who was old enough to be my dad. He ended up leaving 6 months after I started working there, leaving me to be the only person on our contract in this program office. I did not feel like I knew enough at the time to be project manager but I feel like I've been doing a great job. My company's CEO often tells me how great of a job I'm doing given my age. He's apparently pleasantly surprised.

I had to fight for a salary increase when I came to this job. It sort of bothered me that my company thought I'd be able to get by in this part of the country on the salary I had when I was living in the middle of nowhere. I get the impression my company is very stingy about salary increases.

Now that I've been automatically moved up to project manager on our contract here, I feel like there should be some sort of salary increase since my responsibilities have most definitely increased. I have a yearly review coming up in early July and I want to attempt to ask for a raise. I feel that I deserve one not only due to my performance, but also by my move up to the project manager slot.

Not only am I not totally sure how to approach this, but I wish I had some sort of salary data available to me for reference. I really have no idea where I stand salary-wise. I know there are websites that are used to compare salaries, but I don't feel like this job will be one easily found online.

Do any of you have any recommendations on how to approach this? I'd really appreciate it. I've found some sites about this subject that are listed below, but I'd really like to hear some feedback directly tailored to my issue. Thanks!

Pages I've found so far:
Lifehacker
Lifehack
Lifehacker
Lifehacker
Get Rich Slowly

How much do I need to make in Seattle?

wholebroad — Sat, 13 Jun 2009 15:11:12 -0800

What's a decent salary for a single person in Seattle? I'm applying to jobs in Seattle and trying to figure out what my salary requirements would be there. About my lifestyle:

- Single, no kids
- Would like to live in a central-ish neighborhood, in walking distance to things like a supermarket, a few restaurants, and a coffeeshop. I don't necessarily want to live in the fanciest neighborhood, though. My AskMe research makes me think I'd like living in Fremont, Ballard or maybe Capitol Hill.
- At first, I would like to get a room in a house with roommates, but eventually I'd like a one-bedroom or large studio to myself.
- I don't have a car, so I won't have to pay for gas, etc, but I do need to live somewhere convenient to public transit and will probably use Zipcars a few times a month. I may eventually buy a cheap car.
- I like to eat out a few times a week. Nothing fancy, though. Maybe takeout (lunch or dinner) 4-5 times a week plus one or two restaurant meals a week. Other than that, I tend to spend about $50-75/week on groceries. I also like to have a few beers out a couple of times a week.
- I don't have any expensive hobbies or spend a lot on clothes. My biggest "discretionary" expenses are probably books, restaurant meals and yoga classes and/or a gym membership.

So, if you live in Seattle, what's your budget? What do you think sounds like a good salary for the above lifestyle?

How Can I, Early in the Process, Make Sure a Potential Employer and I Aren't Way Too Far Apart in the Potential Salary for a Position?

WCityMike — Fri, 12 Jun 2009 11:45:53 -0800

Does formal, or politely euphemistic, language exist by which, early on in the job-hunt process, you can make sure you and a potential employer aren't considering salary ranges that are half a planet apart? Like many Americans, I am unemployed and job-hunting. The career I last worked in has an extremely wide range of salaries, spanning a large chunk of the range of five-figure numbers.

Some job listings do provide the salary range the employer is looking to pay, but finding that information is a real hit-or-miss affair. For those listings that do not, how can I ascertain a job's salary range, pre-interview and early in the process?

I do understand employers oft make salary offers based on an applicant's experience.

However, the problem I find with solely relying on that is that either:

(a) Despite that variability, an employer can still be working with a salary ceiling in their mind which is still impractically low (either impractically just for me or, more often, impractically for anyone), or

(b) Many employers don't factor an applicant's experience into the salary they're willing to pay for the position, yet still don't make that number public to the applicant until the very end of the process, after a lot of time and effort has already been invested in the process by both applicant and employer. This can be a source of ... frustration, to understate it.

IT Contractor vs full-time Employee. Disadvantages to going the contractor route?

Anonymous — Tue, 09 Jun 2009 07:49:02 -0800

I'm currently employed full-time for a large consulting firm and have recently been offered an opportunity to engage on contract as an independent consultant. I'm hesitant about the loss of stability that this may imply and request the communities feedback Background: Working for several years for a "Large IT Consulting Organization", which also sub-contracts with Contractors and Professional Services organizations to supplement existing in-house skills for our clients. I have a good relationship with these folks and have recently been offered an opportunity to leave my current organization and contract for an engagement of at least 6 months to a year.

The question of compensation, tax, and benefits I think I've got a decent handle on. I'm more interested in the stability aspects to going the contractor route.

I'm an IT professional, age 25-30, recently married, no children for at least another few more years. Wife has a well paying job, current medium term savings give us roughly 6 months cushion time if I'm not drawing a paycheck.

In my current organization, it's important to keep oneself 'billable'. At the same time, I'm salaried and so have a measure of guaranteed income which I find reassuring.

Does anyone have any feedback, or lessons learned one way or another about going this route? I'd like to know more about what everyone thinks about this from a long-term career growth perspective, as well as short term gotchas and things to be on the look out for.

You can contact me directly at itcntrctr5@gmail.com

marketer contract rate before full0time

umlaut — Thu, 14 May 2009 08:39:03 -0800

I wowed folks at my job interview for the full-time position being a webmaster / graphic designer / marketer. But they want me as a contractor first due to the economy. Thoughts on compensation? Folks at my job interview for a full-time position being their webmaster / graphic designer / marketer were "very impressed" with me. Their prior person was a jack-of-all trades and they feel I fit similarly. At the moment the current economy has them seeking me as a contractor – before the ultimate goal of me being full-time. They mentioned they had foreseen my requested salary of $60k at the job interview. It's not far off from this question, except adding the marketing and subtracting the coding. In the past, I feel I've been too flexible on pay in the interest of compromise and avoiding tough negotiation. Thoughts on discussing compensation with them (tomorrow morning)?

Subsisting in the 502

Anonymous — Mon, 11 May 2009 18:50:02 -0800

Is it possible to live in Louisville, KY on a salary in the mid-30's? Where? I'm thinking of accepting a job offer that would pay in the mid 30's, near the University of Louisville in Louisville, Kentucky. Where in the city, if anywhere, could a single fellow rent a place and live on that modest a salary? Proximity or easy transport to the UL area would be a plus. Bonus if near parks, bookstores, mass transit, music venues, etc.

More hours, less money, why not?

Anonymous — Fri, 08 May 2009 07:02:51 -0800

Is it legal and ethical for a company to require salaried employees to work "as many hours as it takes" to complete their work so that the employees are off (paid or unpaid) for one or more weeks per month? My spouse works for a manufacturing company in the state of Texas. Due to the current terrible economic conditions, the company has laid off a substantial portion of the direct workforce, and some smaller percentage of the indirect salaried workforce. Even with those reductions, they still need to reduce expenses. As a result management has instituted site shutdowns of 1-2 weeks per month. For the first couple of shutdowns most people had vacation time they could use to cover the time off. Now my spouse is running out.

In some cases the indirect salaried workforce are being asked to work substantial extra time (20-30 extra hours per week beyond what they would normally work with no overtime as the group in question is salaried) in order to complete their work in the "on weeks" so that the company can carefully ensure that they do no work at all during the "off weeks" and therefore not pay them for those weeks if they have run out of vacation. The company has explained that this is being done to try to prevent additional layoffs, and therefore the employees should all pull together to make it through.

To me it feels unethical, and I wonder if it is legal. Is it? If not, how should my spouse proceed?