Abused salary employee

I work as a salaried employee. From what I understand, work hours cannot be defined by the employer. I have responibilities of opening or closing, that I follow. However, with the down turn of the economy my employer is requiring me to put in extended hours. These hours are not for projects, but presence in the store. I am required to work set hours now i.e. 8am-6pm and to come in 6 days a week. Is this legal??

"From what I understand, work hours cannot be defined by the employer."

You understand incorrectly.  That is EXACTLY who defines the work hours:  the employER.  No one else.  Except in limited circumstances for occupations like pilots, over the road truckers for safety reasons.

"Is this legal??"

Yes.  The hours the employer sets would be legal regardless of whether you were salaried (exempt) or non exempt.  The only difference would be if you were non-exempt once you went over 40 hours they would have to pay you overtime.

So you are a lawyer or expert in employment laws?

I am not a lawyer but I do have 15 years experience in management and dealing with employment laws.  You are free to contact your states DOL or hire an attorney to give you the same answer.

I agree with ClydesMom and I have over 30 years' experience in payroll and wage and hour compliance. 

 That's two.

Oh, and one other thing.  "Salaried" is merely a pay method.  Although both "salaried" and "hourly" employees are subject to the hours required by the employer, nonexempt employees must be paid overtime pay; exempt employees are not legally entitled to overtime pay.

Assuming that by salaried you mean exempt, the only thing an exempt employee is exempt from is overtime pay. He is still subject to all other employer policies including hours worked. Being exempt does NOT mean that you set your own hours. You may be confusing exempt status with independent contractor status.

But feel free to confirm this with the US DOL or any employment attorney you choose.

You original assumption is completely wrong. Your employer has the right to set your hours.

Obviously, you all did not understand my question. And if you are going to be condesending and rude, you can keep your comments to yourself. As they DO NOT help!

 I work retail, and I am considered to be in a white collared position ( which is according to FLSA a salary eligible position). But, recently not only am I doing much more physically demanding work, but expected to push myself to the point of exhuastion. I have worked so hard and long that I physically get sick and have to go the chiropractor because of the physical strain. There has to be some rights as an employee I have.

You have the right to find employment that is more to your liking.

There are only two states which limit the number of hours an employee can be required to work, regardless of whether you are considered exempt or non-exempt. MN is neither of them. There are some exceptions for positions such as long haul truckers or airline pilots, but none for retail workers.

Reagrdless of whether you are an exempt or non-exempt employee your employer can legally assign you any duties they see fit during your assigned work hours.  It does not matter how your method of pay is calculated.  No state in the US regulates the number of hours or type of work that may be assigned to retail workers.

If you are unhappy with it you have the right to seek another job in a different industry or with a different employer.  This employer is not breaking any laws.