In the US, you can be pretty much fired at a whim. You can fired for no reason at all(companies get in trouble when you get fired for a specific reason that they are not supposed too. Examples would be sex, age, or race for example).

The thing is, if a company that fires you does not have a good reason, the state will pay unemployment benefits. Where do they get the money from? They charge businesses a fee, depending on how many people they employ and how often they fire someone. Companies that have a habit of firing people are charged a higher fee because they are putting a burden on the state.

For leocharre here, he mentioned that the owner is an accountant which probably he knows the rules better than most people. If this guy is the penny-pincher that I think he is, then he is trying to avoid having to pay that higher fee. It is a petty thing, but there are plenty of petty people out there.

Also, if you've documented your hours, and you've worked but the company didn't pay for overtime, then you can take them to the state labor board to get back pay. Sometimes this can be one recourse for people in this position.

Thing is.. As I understand it- past 40 hours one is a 'full time' salaried employee. This means the 'laws' about hours and overtime are fuzzy. That is, you are paid a salary- biweekly- but this is doesn't really define how many hours you work. It may be 20 hours one week, sixty the next. It's a give and take on being a 'full time' employee. This can of course be abused by a potential employer. Stating the job requires more time of work than 40- If you're not a full time salaried worker- And you work more than 40 hours, the employer is *required* by law to pay hour plus one half or some such number. Of course, not the case for a full time salaried worker.