Hi I don't really know what to do. Didn't think I would be put in a position / this situation as my boss in generally pretty lenient when it comes to OT.
I am an hourly WFH EE in CA.
My job entails me working with automation on a semi volatile script that I didn't make. Anything can go wrong, be it the shitty server that I use to run said tests, the script itself having an issue, issues arising with the program the script is using, things interrupt it and I have to be there to track the issues and report to our Developers so that they can fix it, and I can start anew.
Well today I am being asked to do Overtime to get a project that takes 3-4 hours to finish one half of it. The project is urgent, but there was a contact issue with the Developer and things didnt get resolved til late this afternoon.
There is a new issue that came up with our recent testing, so Developer #2 is working to resolve this as I report the new issues of the new iterations.
Generally, if I were an office employee I would be expected to be in the office, at my desk. I wouldn't be allotted to clock out and go home every 15 minutes, nor would it be reasonable. In this case though, because I am an hourly EE I am being asked to not track how long the work takes to complete, I instead am being asked to check on it periodically and track the time spent getting up and walking to my work computer and whatever work I have to do at my computer, while the thing does it's thing.
The problem is, I mentioned the script is volatile. If I step away for a half hour and it fails 5 minutes in, that's a full half hour wasted, and now I have to report it to our Developer, who then has to make a fix, then give it back to me, then I have to re-run it, when I could have provided that information 30 minutes prior and gotten things moving much faster. Now I am checking on the work even longer throughout the night.
In a message I directly explained that if I were in office, I would be expected to sit there and wait for everything to finish. If I am working OT, and I am on the clock, I am on the clock. In that same message they explained how I was to track my OT.
As I was typing this, a great example came up where the file had failed 3 minutes in. I was away from the work computer for 30 minutes. Now i have +30 minutes added to how long it will take for this to actually complete (assuming it goes 100% and I dont have to reach out to Developers). Had I not been 'stepped away', I could have had that restarted instantly, or reported to Developers for fixing.
Now again, I've never really had this kind of problem with my boss before, they are generally pretty lenient with the time I can take. What do I say/do? How do I approach this with my boss? This is super stressful and I feel like I am walking on eggshells now trying to say anything to them. Is there some kind of law that I can show that states that this isn't the way to handle OT? What if I am retaliated against and lose my WFH status?