In NY, and the vast majority of the country, salaried employees are not protected by law. Professionals (as defined by professional degrees, as defined by the US Dept. of Ed.) are exempted from FLSA rules regarding breaks. That is the definition of professional. The legal definition. The one the laws refer to,…

No.

I have time for a morning routine. I’m not sure why you think I don’t. I said, (1) I get up, (2) I shower, (3) I throw on a suit, (4) I eat breakfast (as in sit down, make some toast and coffee and eat and watch TV for about 15 minutes), (5) drive to work.

My firm makes it impossible for me to meet my hours. I’m in a satellite office where there’s 2 partners and 2 associates. I’m one of the associates, the other is in a different department. My boss, one of the two partners, is incompetent. He doesn’t take me to meetings, he’s so disorganized assignments that I’ve given…

Oh I didn’t realize the subtext to the headline was “this is only apropos to those who already have the time to do all this stuff.”

I’d love to work less. Unfortunately, that’s fundamentally incompatible with being a practicing attorney.

Again, having time to screw around online is different than getting up and leaving my desk.

When referring to professionals in the context of long work hours, generally defined by the degree one holds, professional degrees are a pretty good proxy for the definition of professional.

Doctorates are not professional degrees. Many professional degrees are doctorates, but not the other way around.

That doesn’t work. You work the hours you have to or you’re fired. Simple as that.

Because in law and medicine, you either work these hours or you find a new career. I happen to like making lots of money and between my wife and I we’ve dedicated 16 years and $500,000 to higher education. Not exactly something we can just drop and pick up something new.

All doctors save psych and derm. Nurses are protected by law and do not work nearly the amount doctors do. They probably work about half, and will readily admit it.

It’s pretty easy because I sit at a desk. I didn’t say I’m constantly working for 10 hours per day. I said I’m at work for 10 hours a day. There’s quite a distinction.

Yeah, thanks for that, I already spend my entire Saturday or Sunday cooking huge portions so we can do that. I bought a 7 cubic foot freezer just for that purpose. Doesn’t help. Still have to go to bed pretty early. Working out takes roughly an hour. If I get home by 6, get to the gym by 7ish, I get home by 8:30ish,…

No kindergarten teacher has a PhD, and a PhD by definition is not a professional degree, it’s an academic degree.

Would you care to see the list of “professional” degrees:

Actually, my secretary said that exact thing to me yesterday. My response:

That was quite apropos.

I don’t work 10-14 hour days 5 to 6 per week. I have to bill 1800 hours per year. That takes 50 to 60 hour weeks, however you want to divide that up.

Hell no salaried workers get no protection in the US. I actually work for a Labor Law firm and I investigated this issue when my wife told me she was working 12 to 14 hour shifts with no break, no food, and no time to use the bathroom.