HCA hospital?
Overtime pay during Hurricane Irma, incorrect pay
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Originally Posted By: madRiver
HCA hospital?
You mean Rick Scott Healthcare ?
HCA hospital?
You mean Rick Scott Healthcare ?
So were the "locked down" employees on duty 24/7 or allowed to sleep/ eat?
There is a gray area for employees required to be "on call" like prison guards and it interferes with their private off duty life, eg not being able to get drunk etc b/c they could get called in. When there is such a thing as "on call pay" it's a stipend and not part of minimum wage or OT.
So if they word it so your lockdown has you free to visit the break room from 7p-7a so long as you respond to your pager it could be an interesting legal situation.
You could also get a lawyer to complain on your behalf and keep you anonymous. They'll crack before your name gets out if you have a case.
There is a gray area for employees required to be "on call" like prison guards and it interferes with their private off duty life, eg not being able to get drunk etc b/c they could get called in. When there is such a thing as "on call pay" it's a stipend and not part of minimum wage or OT.
So if they word it so your lockdown has you free to visit the break room from 7p-7a so long as you respond to your pager it could be an interesting legal situation.
You could also get a lawyer to complain on your behalf and keep you anonymous. They'll crack before your name gets out if you have a case.
Originally Posted By: jeepman3071
Originally Posted By: Alfred_B
They are worried because they will be "replaced" soon after revealing their complaint and be ineligible for rehire. And if they use their experience at the hospital on their resume, they may not get a job afterwards if the HR department, as part of their due diligence, calls the hospital HR department to ask whether "they would hire the person again".
This. And it is a very real fear. A family member went through something similar, and the case dragged on for many months. He was "replaced" and the HR department somehow lost his last glowing evaluation. He is currently still job searching. It doesn't help that his name hit the local paper and now shows up on Google. If employers do an online search the whole thing comes up.
The best thing you can do if you are unhappy is just quietly look for another position. Document everything currently going on if you want to lawyer up and tackle it afterward.
Yep, retaliation is real and difficult to fight.
Originally Posted By: Alfred_B
They are worried because they will be "replaced" soon after revealing their complaint and be ineligible for rehire. And if they use their experience at the hospital on their resume, they may not get a job afterwards if the HR department, as part of their due diligence, calls the hospital HR department to ask whether "they would hire the person again".
This. And it is a very real fear. A family member went through something similar, and the case dragged on for many months. He was "replaced" and the HR department somehow lost his last glowing evaluation. He is currently still job searching. It doesn't help that his name hit the local paper and now shows up on Google. If employers do an online search the whole thing comes up.
The best thing you can do if you are unhappy is just quietly look for another position. Document everything currently going on if you want to lawyer up and tackle it afterward.
Yep, retaliation is real and difficult to fight.
Originally Posted By: eljefino
So were the "locked down" employees on duty 24/7 or allowed to sleep/ eat?
There is a gray area for employees required to be "on call" like prison guards and it interferes with their private off duty life, eg not being able to get drunk etc b/c they could get called in. When there is such a thing as "on call pay" it's a stipend and not part of minimum wage or OT.
So if they word it so your lockdown has you free to visit the break room from 7p-7a so long as you respond to your pager it could be an interesting legal situation.
You could also get a lawyer to complain on your behalf and keep you anonymous. They'll crack before your name gets out if you have a case.
All employees got rest breaks. Impossible to work 4 straight days without sleep and rest, they brought sleeping bags / inflatable air mattresses and slept where they could find space. Hospital was at 130% of the licensed beds, so it was very busy for everyone involved. They got paid to be resting for 12 hours each day.
I slept in the shop (office) on an air mattress. I also got paid to rest, luckily no major problems.
So were the "locked down" employees on duty 24/7 or allowed to sleep/ eat?
There is a gray area for employees required to be "on call" like prison guards and it interferes with their private off duty life, eg not being able to get drunk etc b/c they could get called in. When there is such a thing as "on call pay" it's a stipend and not part of minimum wage or OT.
So if they word it so your lockdown has you free to visit the break room from 7p-7a so long as you respond to your pager it could be an interesting legal situation.
You could also get a lawyer to complain on your behalf and keep you anonymous. They'll crack before your name gets out if you have a case.
All employees got rest breaks. Impossible to work 4 straight days without sleep and rest, they brought sleeping bags / inflatable air mattresses and slept where they could find space. Hospital was at 130% of the licensed beds, so it was very busy for everyone involved. They got paid to be resting for 12 hours each day.
I slept in the shop (office) on an air mattress. I also got paid to rest, luckily no major problems.
JHZR2
Staff member
These sorts of things are why unions have some use.
Unfortunately they harbor excessive wages and benefits for little value, and help protect worthless employees too. Too bad there isn't a happy medium.
Unfortunately they harbor excessive wages and benefits for little value, and help protect worthless employees too. Too bad there isn't a happy medium.
Originally Posted By: ZeeOSix
Originally Posted By: Anduril
Originally Posted By: ZeeOSix
How do you know that they weren't paid what their contract says? If they were paid regular time plus $7/hr for OT, maybe that's what their contract says. They might not know exactly what their contract says associated with a situation like "lock down" pay.
Unless they are salary, a contract cannot violate federal overtime law.
I think there are a lot of "it depends" in that matter (see link below). My contract did not pay me 1.5 and 2.0 pay for overtime - it was regular time plus a fixed amount which was far from 1.5 pay. And I know for a fact this super large company was not violating Federal Law on OT pay ... there's no way they could and get away with it, too many people monitoring them daily on their operations.
Question is ... what are the rules that make you exempt from the Federal Law on OT? I was definitely exempt from 1.5 and 2.0 OT pay, while others in the company did get 1.5 and 2.0 OT pay.
https://www.dol.gov/whd/overtime_pay.htm
"The federal overtime provisions are contained in the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). Unless exempt, employees covered by the Act must receive overtime pay for hours worked over 40 in a workweek at a rate not less than time and one-half their regular rates of pay."
I've been fighting some wage issues in my job, and while I wouldn't claim to be an expert I have learned a fair bit about FLSA as a result.
In the context of FLSA, "exempt" has a very specific meaning. Basically, in order to be an exempt employee you must pass certain "tests" in terms of your job duties(the gist of them is that you need to be in a supervisor or executive position or have a highly skilled technical position) AND you must earn a minimum of $23,600(it was set to go to $47,455 at the end of 2016, but that is currently under an injunction). I'll also add that a position can be classed as FLSA exempt if the earnings are over $100K a year regardless of what the position involved.
Also, there are specific requirements for what is considered an "independent contractor." The general guidelines on that are that you need to supply your own tools/equipment and are free to come and go as you wish as well as having the freedom to take or reject specific jobs as you wish. Even if you are working "on a contract" if you are expected to maintain certain work hours and use your employer's equipment you are covered under the FLSA.
If an employee is not FLSA exempt, federal law is pretty clear that they are owed 1.5x for any time physically worked over 40 hours per week.
Also, I'll add that that the injunction last fall came at the 11th hour. My employer was nearly complete with the transition to comply with the new FLSA regulations and elected to just go ahead and follow them as the amount of work to undo it(and then later redo it) for an organization that size is tremendous. It wouldn't surprise me if there are a LOT of large employers who did the same.
Originally Posted By: Anduril
Originally Posted By: ZeeOSix
How do you know that they weren't paid what their contract says? If they were paid regular time plus $7/hr for OT, maybe that's what their contract says. They might not know exactly what their contract says associated with a situation like "lock down" pay.
Unless they are salary, a contract cannot violate federal overtime law.
I think there are a lot of "it depends" in that matter (see link below). My contract did not pay me 1.5 and 2.0 pay for overtime - it was regular time plus a fixed amount which was far from 1.5 pay. And I know for a fact this super large company was not violating Federal Law on OT pay ... there's no way they could and get away with it, too many people monitoring them daily on their operations.
Question is ... what are the rules that make you exempt from the Federal Law on OT? I was definitely exempt from 1.5 and 2.0 OT pay, while others in the company did get 1.5 and 2.0 OT pay.
https://www.dol.gov/whd/overtime_pay.htm
"The federal overtime provisions are contained in the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). Unless exempt, employees covered by the Act must receive overtime pay for hours worked over 40 in a workweek at a rate not less than time and one-half their regular rates of pay."
I've been fighting some wage issues in my job, and while I wouldn't claim to be an expert I have learned a fair bit about FLSA as a result.
In the context of FLSA, "exempt" has a very specific meaning. Basically, in order to be an exempt employee you must pass certain "tests" in terms of your job duties(the gist of them is that you need to be in a supervisor or executive position or have a highly skilled technical position) AND you must earn a minimum of $23,600(it was set to go to $47,455 at the end of 2016, but that is currently under an injunction). I'll also add that a position can be classed as FLSA exempt if the earnings are over $100K a year regardless of what the position involved.
Also, there are specific requirements for what is considered an "independent contractor." The general guidelines on that are that you need to supply your own tools/equipment and are free to come and go as you wish as well as having the freedom to take or reject specific jobs as you wish. Even if you are working "on a contract" if you are expected to maintain certain work hours and use your employer's equipment you are covered under the FLSA.
If an employee is not FLSA exempt, federal law is pretty clear that they are owed 1.5x for any time physically worked over 40 hours per week.
Also, I'll add that that the injunction last fall came at the 11th hour. My employer was nearly complete with the transition to comply with the new FLSA regulations and elected to just go ahead and follow them as the amount of work to undo it(and then later redo it) for an organization that size is tremendous. It wouldn't surprise me if there are a LOT of large employers who did the same.
^^^ The large company I work for has never paid their exempt employees 1.5x or 2.0x pay for overtime - it's been going on like that for 35+ years. They operate within the laws because there are so many union people sniffing on them daily to ensure they abide by the laws and contracts in place that they couldn't break rules and contracts without getting hammered instantly.
I'm not a union member, but On Call, 1.5x and 2x pay is standard.
I remained an hourly paid employee so I can rack up OT on a regular basis.
I remained an hourly paid employee so I can rack up OT on a regular basis.
BTW, as per the DOL, overtime requirements(1.5x for hours actually worked over 40 in a week) for non-exempt employees "are not subject to waiver during natural disasters and recovery efforts."
https://www.dol.gov/whd/resources/HurricaneIreneFAQ.htm
There again, if the employees are non-exempt, they are subject time and a half overtime rules regardless of the circumstances under which those hours are worked.
https://www.dol.gov/whd/resources/HurricaneIreneFAQ.htm
There again, if the employees are non-exempt, they are subject time and a half overtime rules regardless of the circumstances under which those hours are worked.
JHZR2
Staff member
Originally Posted By: ZeeOSix
^^^ The large company I work for has never paid their exempt employees 1.5x or 2.0x pay for overtime - it's been going on like that for 35+ years. They operate within the laws because there are so many union people sniffing on them daily to ensure they abide by the laws and contracts in place that they couldn't break rules and contracts without getting hammered instantly.
Why would they, they are exempt...
I wonder if plant operators and nurses and whatnot are skilled technical positions and therefore exempt too per the definition given above. Honestly I can't see how they would be anything less. That would make the addendum some sort of bonus or incentive pay and not a matter of OT at all.
^^^ The large company I work for has never paid their exempt employees 1.5x or 2.0x pay for overtime - it's been going on like that for 35+ years. They operate within the laws because there are so many union people sniffing on them daily to ensure they abide by the laws and contracts in place that they couldn't break rules and contracts without getting hammered instantly.
Why would they, they are exempt...
I wonder if plant operators and nurses and whatnot are skilled technical positions and therefore exempt too per the definition given above. Honestly I can't see how they would be anything less. That would make the addendum some sort of bonus or incentive pay and not a matter of OT at all.
Originally Posted By: JHZR2
Why would they, they are exempt...
I wonder if plant operators and nurses and whatnot are skilled technical positions and therefore exempt too per the definition given above. Honestly I can't see how they would be anything less. That would make the addendum some sort of bonus or incentive pay and not a matter of OT at all.
The salary requirement is the big sticking point now.
For now, anyone making more than $23,600 can be FLSA exempt but as I said that was changed at the 11th hour before the new regulations were set to go into place Dec. 1 of last year.
And there again, with the amount of work required for the change over, many large employers are continuing to abide by the $47,455 rule since the injunction against implementing it is likely temporary. Some of those positions may not may not make that much.
Exempt status is not something that happens automatically with a certain position-an employer can make everyone from the president/CEO on down hourly(non-exempt) if they want to. Granted most don't for obvious reasons, but just meeting the job duties test and salary test doesn't AUTOMATICALLY make you exempt(although most employers would go ahead and do that).
Why would they, they are exempt...
I wonder if plant operators and nurses and whatnot are skilled technical positions and therefore exempt too per the definition given above. Honestly I can't see how they would be anything less. That would make the addendum some sort of bonus or incentive pay and not a matter of OT at all.
The salary requirement is the big sticking point now.
For now, anyone making more than $23,600 can be FLSA exempt but as I said that was changed at the 11th hour before the new regulations were set to go into place Dec. 1 of last year.
And there again, with the amount of work required for the change over, many large employers are continuing to abide by the $47,455 rule since the injunction against implementing it is likely temporary. Some of those positions may not may not make that much.
Exempt status is not something that happens automatically with a certain position-an employer can make everyone from the president/CEO on down hourly(non-exempt) if they want to. Granted most don't for obvious reasons, but just meeting the job duties test and salary test doesn't AUTOMATICALLY make you exempt(although most employers would go ahead and do that).
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