Try Taking Direct Approach With Standoffish Co-Worker

Q: I have a problem getting along with a certain co-worker. She is very open and talkative with all of the other workers except me. She basically ignores me except for conversations dealing with work-related duties, but if another employee walks up, she immediately opens up and starts talking and even cracking jokes.

I feel awkward, and it is affecting my work. How do I approach this person to help her open up to me? Should I even try? After so many attempts to befriend her and then failing, I feel like giving up and just ignoring her.

--A.S., Garden Grove

A: If you are willing to give it another try, approach your co-worker and be straight with her. Ask her about the reason for her coolness toward you. Perhaps it is simply a misunderstanding that can be clarified.

On the other hand, this could be some sort of personality clash, and you and she may never be friends. Just because workers are not “chummy” doesn’t mean they can’t have a good working relationship. However, if her coolness toward you continues and is still having a negative effect on your work, you need to discuss the situation with your supervisor. Perhaps you could be transferred to another department or work group.

--Ron Riggio, director

Kravis Leadership Institute

Claremont McKenna College

Overtime Pay Due Nonexempt Worker

Q: I am a salaried employee at a law firm. Several of us are required to work 9 a.m. to noon on Saturdays. I agreed to the arrangement when I took the job, but quickly regretted it because I have been putting in five to 10 hours unpaid overtime during the week, topped off with three hours on Saturdays. However, my paychecks reflect a flat 40 hours of work per week.

When we took up the matter with our employer, we were told that our “salaried status” does not give us the right to overtime pay. Further, we were told that we would lose our employee benefits if we were to get Saturdays off. Is this right?

--C.W., Los Angeles

A: Your law firm cannot deny overtime pay by classifying you as “salaried,” unless your job duties are primarily executive, administrative or professional in character. As a general rule, law firm employees who are not practicing attorneys or management personnel are entitled to receive overtime pay when they work more than 40 hours in a week. This is true for paralegals, secretaries and other legal support staff, since they are not “professional” employees like lawyers and accountants.

A small number of nonlawyers may be exempt as “executive” or “administrative” employees if they spend more than 50% of their working hours running the business.

Assuming that you are not a lawyer, manager or administrator, your law firm should pay you overtime at 1 1/2 times your regular wage rate when you work more than 40 hours in a workweek.

For work performed before this month (when state law changed), you should also be entitled to recover unpaid overtime at 1 1/2 times your regular rate when you worked more than eight hours per day and twice your regular rate when you worked more than 12 hours per day. In addition, you may be entitled to recover attorney’s fees, double damages and other penalties.

To make a claim, contact the California labor commissioner or consult a private attorney, preferably one outside your office.

You also state that your employer has told you that you would lose your employee benefits if you did not work Saturdays. If such a policy exists, its lawfulness is questionable. Ask your employer, pension plan administrator and health insurer for copies of rules requiring work on Saturdays to maintain benefit eligibility. If these rules exist, consult an attorney knowledgeable in employee benefits.

--Joseph L. Paller Jr.

Union, employee attorney

Gilbert & Sackman

No Interest Owed on Late Pay Increase

Q: My employer agreed to give me a salary increase in April. In May, I noticed that the increase was not on my paycheck. I was told that the increase would be applied to my next month’s check. This went on for five months, until I contacted the payroll department directly and found out that the paperwork for my increase was sitting on their desk all this time.

After complaining about the six-month delay, I finally received a check for my back pay. Legally, can I also ask for interest on the back pay as a kind of waiting-time penalty?

--G.N., Los Angeles

A: No. Waiting-time penalties are imposed by statute only on employers who fail to disburse a final paycheck to an employee in a timely fashion when the employee quits or is terminated. Waiting-time penalties have nothing to do with interest on salary increases that are paid late.

Although there may be some way to assert a legal claim for breach of contract against your employer for interest, the amount would be so small that it would not be worth your while.

--Michael A. Hood

Employment law attorney

Paul, Hastings, Janofsky & Walker

Employer May Require Shared Leave

Q: My husband and I work for the same large corporation. I am pregnant, and we just attended a meeting informing us of our maternity leave benefits.

We were given information about family care leave under the Family and Medical Leave Act, which allows for 16 weeks of unpaid leave, beginning Jan. 1. We were told, however, that since we both work for the same company, the 16 weeks would have to be shared between us. This does not seem right, because if we worked at separate companies we would each have 16 weeks available for leave.

--L.C., Long Beach

A: Your employer is correct. Under the law, if both spouses work for the same employer, they can be required to share the maximum amount of leave that is otherwise available to individuals.

--Kirk F. Maldonado

Employee benefits attorney

Riordan & McKinzie

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If you have a question about an on-the-job situation, please mail it to Shop Talk, Los Angeles Times, P.O. Box 2008, Costa Mesa, CA 92626, or e-mail shoptalk@latimes.com