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Depends on your definition of change

Posted By: chs on 2008-06-06
In Reply to: You are wrong about Focus.....sm - Changes

No where on Nuance site could I find where it said they were moving everything to the US.  Heard from Indian company the other day who was trying to recruit that Focus is hiring like crazy and are even signing up companies over there to subcontract their work to. Kinda interesting since they profess that they own all their own labor.


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Depends on your definition of holiday pay - sm
Several companies pay 1.5 times base if you work the holidays they recognize. If the holiday falls on your regularly scheduled day, you either have to work it or use PTO hours (or sometimes you are able flex that time and work it later) to be off on the holiday.
Look up the definition...

Definition of IC
I just experienced something horrible that happened to me this week.  I've been an IC with a small transcription company (prefer not to mention name) for almost 1 year now.  The manager has her moods.  When I started to work this week, I noticed nothing was in my job que to type.  I kept e-mailing her and e-mailing her and she never responded back.  I then tried calling her and she never responded back.  I started to get very frustrated.  I found out from another IC that she had given my work to another IC without even confronting me.  I know that an IC is different than a permanent employee, but how on earth could anybody treat somebody like that for no reason at all.  Talk about being angry and frustrated!  Luckily, I was able to find work pretty fast, but it really stinks when you are an IC that a company could just let you go for no reason at all and especially totally ignoring your e-mails and phone calls.  Has anybody experienced what I just went through?
Definition of IC
The HR manager wants me to call her on Monday in regards to explain to me what the exact term of 1099/IC means. I did e-mail the staff that I was upset that I did not have any work in the cue for 9 straight days. They told me that's the definition of being an independent contractor. You would think they would have at least told me that TOA account went away. They did not even put me on another account. I would be sitting here for months without anything to do unless I did not catch looking on Global Documents and realizing that all of the TOA doctors were gone on the list. How would you handle that if you were an MT? I know you were QA2, but imagine being in my situation.
I've got your definition
IC means they don't promise you a thing with regard to volume of work, but expect you to work as if you were an employee...

IC used to mean Independent Contractor - you contract with a service or doctor/hospital to provide certain services. They define the job needed to be done, but *you* set your price.

To be fair, a qualified MT still has the ability to negotiate rate, etc., and many MTSO's are flexible and fair. Too many however, (MQ) are so totally corporatized they are quickly moving to force the former independent into a employee status - and in the process removing *much* if not all of the production pay incentives that used to make this work (more)bearable.

Watch the new trend: Pay newbies nothing and QAers very little and end up with a finished product that nets a bigger profit. Hey, if we stand for it, we deserve to be exploited.
true definition
what is the true definition of a wannabe? 
Definition of 10-key skills
Accounting courses teach 10-key skills by touch the same way typing courses teach keyboarding by touch. When you are entering numbers, it is much, much, much easier and faster to use the keypad to the right instead of the numbers on the top row of the keyboard. This is by touch, not by hunting and pecking the numbers to the right of the keyboard.
What's your definition of life?

It depends on what your definition of a life is.  I don't have kids, so having a weekend free is not important to me.  I don't believe in organized religion (but have great faith in God) so going to church isn't an issue.  I love having days off during the week so I can do appointments, etc., easier without intruding on my workday.  I am a night owl, so the shift I work for my MTSO which is 5 pm to 1:30 am is perfect for me.  I love my schedule.


Saturdays and Sundays are the busiest days for work, especially if you're in acute care, so it makes sense to me that's when they want the most coverage.


I have lots of work in a failing economy, so I never complain about it.


Employee VS IC definition
You need to read up on IC  VS employee status deinitions according to IRS and labor department.  Google the term and read up a bit.  Here is a page, click the various titles and they open up
Actually it's the exact definition of it.
x
Do you know the definition of RUMOR? Sheesh!
You must be a riot at the laundromat! Yackety Yack!
Definition of syntax inside....

syntax

One entry found for syntax.




Main Entry: syn·tax
Pronunciation: 'sin-taks
Function: noun
Etymology: Middle French or Late Latin; Middle French sintaxe, from Late Latin syntaxis, from Greek, from syntassein to arrange together, from syn- + tassein to arrange
1 a : the way in which linguistic elements (as words) are put together to form constituents (as phrases or clauses) b : the part of grammar dealing with this
2 : a connected or orderly system : harmonious arrangement of parts or elements <the syntax of classical architecture>

definition of a cherry picker
Cherry picking is when you get routed the easiest docs to transcribe from a particular account or when the gals in the office get routed the easier docs and leave the crap for the rest of us to do. I do every single doctor that comes to me on my account and do not pass it on to my coworkers. If I were doing that you better believe I would be hearing it from my coworkers as some of us talk between one another!!! You do not know what you are talking about and I am getting the impression that you are either a newbie or extremely immature. Somehow you seem to think that I owe you good accounts. Go out and find them, they are out there!!! Sounds like you are too afraid to expect more and lack the assertiveness necessary.... All careers have people who make the low end, middle end, and high end pay wise and job wise. I choose, here I use the word again choose to be one of the ones on the top end of the pay scale. It works the same way with for instance my husband's job. He chose to move his way up the ladder while other guys stayed down. What, is he supposed to stay down because they choose to not get ahead??? This is all so infantile... I gotta get back to work or maybe my coworkers will start to feel I am not pulling my weight!! Gee wiz....
How is that going to help me? I wasn't asking for a definition of IC vs Employee
Just want to find a new job.
Definition of an Independent Contractor
Defining the Independent Contractor

No consistent, uniform definition distinguishes an employee from an independent contractor. Some statutes contain their own definitions. The U.S. Supreme Court has held that when a statute contains the term employee but fails to define it adequately, there is a presumption that traditional agency-law criteria for identifying master-servant relationships apply (National Mutual Insurance Co. v. Darden, 503 U.S. 318, 112 S. Ct. 1344, 111 L. Ed. 2d 581 [1992]).

One comprehensive test that takes into account agency-law criteria and numerous other factors courts have created to define independent contractor status was developed by the Internal Revenue Service. Known collectively as the twenty-factor test, the enumerated criteria generally fall within three categories: control (whether the employer or the worker has control over the work performed), organization (whether the worker is integrated into the business), and economic realities (whether the worker directly benefits from his or her labor). The twenty factors serve only as a guideline. Each factor's degree of importance varies depending on the occupation and the facts involved in a particular case. Twenty-factor test [nl] 1.

A worker who is required to comply with instructions about when, where, and how he or she must work is usually an employee.

2.

If an employer trains a worker — requires an experienced employee to work with the worker, educates the worker through correspondence, requires the worker to attend meetings, or uses other methods — this normally indicates that the worker is an employee.

3.

If a worker's services are integrated into business operations, this tends to show that the worker is subject to direction and control and is thus an employee. This is the case particularly when a business's success or continuation depends to a large extent on the performance of certain services.

4.

If a worker's services must be rendered personally, there is a presumption that the employer is interested in the methods by which the services are accomplished as well as in the result, making the worker an employee.

5.

If an employer hires, supervises, and pays assistants for a worker, this indicates control over the worker on the job, making the worker an employee.

6.

A continuing relationship between a worker and an employer, even at irregular intervals, tends to show an employer-employee relationship.

7.

An employer who sets specific hours of work for a worker exhibits control over the worker, indicating that the worker is an employee.

8.

If a worker is working substantially full-time for an employer, the worker is presumably not free to do work for other employers and is therefore an employee.

9.

Work performed on an employer's premises suggests the employer's control over a worker, making the worker an employee. This is especially true when work could be done elsewhere. However, the mere fact that work is done off the employer's premises does not necessarily make the worker an independent contractor.

10.

If a worker is required to perform services in an order or sequence set by an employer, the employer has control over the worker that demonstrates an employer-employee relationship.

11.

A worker who is required to submit regular oral or written reports to an employer is likely an employee.

12.

Payment by the hour, week, or month tends to indicate that a worker is an employee; payment made by the job or on a straight commission points to an independent contractor.

13.

A worker is ordinarily an employee if an employer pays for the worker's business or travel expenses.

14.

An employer who furnishes a worker with significant tools, materials, or other equipment tends to show that the worker is an employee.

15.

A worker who significantly invests in facilities used to perform services and not typically maintained by employees (such as office space) is generally an independent contractor.

16.

A worker who can realize a profit or loss resulting from her or his services is generally an independent contractor.

17.

A worker who performs for more than one firm at a time is generally an independent contractor.

18.

If a worker makes his or her services available to the general public on a regular and consistent basis, that worker is generally an independent contractor.

19.

An employer's right to discharge a worker tends to show that the worker is an employee. An employee must obey an employer's instructions in order to stay employed; an independent contractor can be fired only if the work result fails to meet the agreed-upon specifications.

20.

If a worker has the right to terminate her or his relationship with an employer at any time without incurring liability, such as breach of contract, that worker is likely an employee.

See: Employment Law; Labor Law; Master and Servant.
Just a quick definition for you anon for now...


SATIRE


1.the use of irony, sarcasm, ridicule, or the like, in exposing, denouncing, or deriding vice, folly, etc.
2. a literary composition, in verse or prose, in which human folly and vice are held up to scorn, derision, or ridicule.
3. a literary genre comprising such compositions.

obviously my post wasn't trying to trick anyone into believing I was a TT CEO, I didn't even give his name, and if anybody is slow enough to think that I am the CEO for a minute, please email me, I have a bridge to sale you.

This whole thread is about the pay decreases and why they are happending...satire, my friend, satire. I need to buy you one of those word-a-day calendars.

What is the definition of "Very nice?" $25, $50, $100, $1000?
.
Everyone has a different definition of good money. Mine is 50K or more.
x
definition of decent: Acceptable standards
making $50,000 a year as an MT is beyond decent, it is really great, but realistically a decent living would be less, which is what the poster asked, as the definition of decent is to have acceptable standards.
Axolotl employees----have questions about line definition, etc. sm

How does Axolotl define a line?  Do they pay for spaces, headers, footers, & expansions?  Are you docked for blanks or sending things to QA?  If so, how much.


Thanks for the info.


Have a fabulous 4th!


I've easily done 600, but it depends on the way a company counts lines and it depends on the
dictators. Obviously, if you have a good share of ESL, there is no way you could ever do 600 or 700. On really difficult ones, I usually run around 400 lines an hour and I have been working on this platform for 3 years.
Nothing will change unless we make it change..SM
As long as we accept the exploitation that this MT profession has reduced us to, it will keep going on.  The top of this is the outsourcing.... well, get your legislators involved....better yet, the MEDIA.  How many patients know their private medical information is being outsourced to halfway around the world? The squeeky wheel gets the grease.  Do the patients know that their info won't be sold by some unscrupulous MT (halfway around the globe) to insurance companies, etc., making all this Medical records privacy a joke. It's not just our T-shirts being made in other countries; it's our most personal, private medical information, of which the public is not being made aware of.  Not to speak of undercutting out profession to the bare bone.  Granted, most US MTs are willing to work below market wage just to have a job, especially in economically-deprived areas, where outside jobs are scarce, and kids need to be fed and mortgages need to be paid.  MTSOs know this.  I'll bet they'll be the first to lobby against any action against outsourcing.  (Wouldn't you be...if you got people to work for pennies while you're raking in the big $$$'s ?  Still, notwithstanding the outsourcing problem, we're still going along with all the BS...working for pennies, whatever the client wants, he gets... ever notice how all of the MTSO flak seems to be re. unpaid work...mostly, demographic issues we're not even paid for... bec. It has to be done.. Part of the job... The client put the wrong info but we have to correct it...all unpaid work.  Just give me a job with nothing but straight transcription, w/o the unpaid/demo. flak..I'll take it even at the present, absurd pennies-per-line state of the profession.
MQ BIG CHANGE?
I just love these posters..gonna be a big change..well, what?  Dont post something like that and not explain.  It only causes anxiety and speculation in an already scarey field, with outsourcing, etc.  Big change, well, come on now..what is gonna be the big change and where did you get your information from?
Well, then maybe that should change.
Maybe they, too, should be paid based on what they produce, with a little bonus if the person stays a year.
Sometimes you just get in a rut and need a change. Sometimes you just
get burn-out in general and think it is the company/account.  I've left a position before because I thought the grass was greener, but it wasn't.  Had to learn new platform, new software program, new dictators with various new accents to figure out, new way to count lines, etc.   Even if the pay was a bit better I still figured I lost money and the grass wasn't greener.   No company is perfect, but there are some very good companies out there, but there can still be intermittent issues with any company.  Sometimes talking with management might resolve issues, sometimes taking a break will refresh you and make you see things in a different light.  List pros/cons of present account and compare that what a different company has to offer.  You may realize you are better off where you are and if not you can feel comfortable that you're making a change that really will be better for you.   If you do decide to leave current account just don't burn any bridges so you leave with the possibility of being able to return if new account/company doesn't work out. 
No. Currently, you can use your own. That may change
nm
I think so...I am not one for change tho....but there

To change
the subject somewhat.  Gastric bypass and lap banding scare me to death!  I personally know of five people who underwent the procedures, and all had complications, one being death.  They all had excellent surgeons, one being my surgeon.  Everyone responds differently I know, and that is the problem.  It is too much of a gamble for me.
change
Are we all in the same boat?  I work for the largest national in the country and am hoping to hear about another position with another company tomorrow or Wednesday.  Many of us have been MTs for years and make less now than then we started.  We get thrown into the national cesspool and may get 20 different states in 20 different reports.  Impossible to make a good line count this way.  I'm slow to change and always fearful, but I'm really at the end of my rope.  Anyone want to add to this conversation, please feel free.  Happy New Year everyone!  May 2008 bring us more MONEY and more CONTENTMENT!!
have to change dsl
well just talked to Vonage and everything was fine until they tried to transfer my line. Said I have to discontinue DSL through ATT for ATT to allow it, then vonage can transfer it...
So I will change to time warner for cable and then get the adapter from vonage. Yes it is a lot cheaper, but have to work out all the transfers.
I know... but I need a change... SM

It was a great benefit for me being an IC because I would work and get big paychecks and being a single mom, I would get the child credits and the earned income tax credits, and I would actually get money back, quite a bit.


But now that that is not going to happen anymore, I want some PTO and all those nice benefits!!!  Im just ready for a change...


Which companies actually hire employees and offer PTO, etc.?


:-)


Change in pay
Contact the Wage and Hour Department of the Federal Labor Commission. This is illegal.
Looking for change
Good luck! I hope you find what you are looking for. I might also add that Landmark is a good, honest company that does not offshore.
Do you know by any change the
system you will be using? Some are apparently much better than others.
I wonder if that will change with the new sm
employee handbook?  I briefly read it this morning and it seems that it boils down to **you owe us this, this and that and we don't owe you anything**.
That will all change.

I've been in the business 20 years too.  I worked for Transcend for 4 years and my honeymoon period with them lasted about 7 months.  Once the honeymoon was over, it was one of the worst job experiences I have ever had. 


What would you like me to change it to? (nm)
I don't like change that much. I started posting here when I was a newer TT'r, so why change?
that says a lot. You would change sm
your mind if you were the sole bread winner as a big majority of MTs are. You wouldn't care about weekends at that point. You do what you have to do to support your family.

You can say what you want, but you have some off as self-righteous and definitely a slap in the face to all of us hard-working full-time MTs
exactly to change this???

x


What you are not getting is the change.
If you've always been used to it, fine...you have worked it out with the mortgage company, car payment, insurance, etc. You've got auto payment set up for your internet or your phone bill. So all those things have to be realigned. That will take some time to readjust both the inflow of money and the getting the autopayments changed.

And, some of you folks really don't seem to have any feeling for those that literally go paycheck to paycheck. I work two jobs. The only time I can take any length of time away from my desk is on Saturday evening and Sundays. Which works out great if I'm getting paid on Fridays. Not so good when it's falling through the week....so you're waiting extra days waiting for payday anyway and then you've got to wait longer before you can get out and do anything with it.

I'm glad your life is so stable that that waiting three extra 3 days doesn't impact you in any way. But having been there myself, and still almost there, I can certainly expend a little sympathy and try to understand how it might be problematic for someone else.
Why don't you change your hours?

I thought you were allowed to choose your own hours.


Times change. It's not about YOU, it's about

what the reality is today, not four months ago.


Congratulations on your windfall, though.


If you have doubts, email or call the person who hired you and they'll verify this.


 


Good or bad change?
What do you think is going to happen?
MQ big change? Hmmm maybe

Big changes a coming...


she's talking about that we will have to volunteer xxx amount of lines to the legal fund


put in for PTO 3 yrs in advance


 be required to have state of the art systems (say the ones for 2 grand)


 pay are own and 10 of our neighbors DSl bills (because MQ may have a stake in that company


commit to not only real chains to the chair but also go on ankle monitors, so that MQ management can tell when we stray farther than 2 ft from our puter's...say to go to the potty


have to go through our supe's, area managers, district higher up's then finally corporate to sign off for the shift or to notify them of our own deaths


not only be able to understand our loving ESL's but to also be able to transcribe in their native languages if they so desire


be ready, willing and able to put up during training all the offshores who so desire to come to the US to train...kinda like a foreign exchange transcriptionist


Last but not least, to have the common sense to duck when that sky falls


 i love those the end is near posts.....geez


Hang on it will change
I am surprised to hear that FOCUS ICs are without jobs!!! I work for another company that provides services for them and we have so many jobs from FOCUS that we are asked to work extended shifts. I know that they have some accounts that are supposed to be VR editing but everyone working on them is mostly doing MT work until the VRE kicks in. We hear it is about 30-60 days from 90% VRE.
worrying does not change anything
Two hospitals that I worked at..rumor was they were going to oursource.  We were told no way, dont worry about your jobs.  One hospital was reassuring us on Monday, Thursday we had a meeting and were told we were let go, pick up our purses and leave.  The other hospital was reassuring us in the morning and by 11am we were called down to Human Resources and let go.  Corporate is not gonna tell us what they are deciding as they dont want to scare the transcriptionists away and then they wouldnt have transcriptionists.  Plus the management are only workers like us.  Whatever they know, if they tell, they will lose their jobs.  Corporate looks out for making a profit for their stock holders.  I have heard the rumors about MQ also, some from office workers themselves.  If you are a good transcriptionist, dont worry.  MQ isnt gonna get rid of the transcriptionists.  It is the offices they are merging.  The transcriptionists will just have to call in to a different office.  Also, there are many transcription companies out there.  Nothing you can do about corporate decisions.  If you worry so much, you will make yourself sick. Used to be when I first started working, there was loyalty between employer and employee.  That isnt how the American workplace is any more.  Just remember, transcriptionists are in demand.  You will do fine.
subject to change..lol
I worked for a large national for an entire week, getting only one report per day, but one of them was really really bad. The patient had allergies listed and then the same medications listed in "medications." The family history had the father 2 different ages and dying of 2 different disorders, and it went on and on. I sent it to QA with a description of all of the obvious and potentially dangerous errors and was told "it is verbatim and not our problem." Scuse me...that could be somebody's grandma laying there about to be given a medication that could or could not be deadly due to an allergy!!
I wonder if there was a change in management...
...to account for your different experience.  Something for potentials to consider.
As much as things change
there, yes it will change again, for better or worse, who knows, I sure don't.
Is Webmedx going to change all their
accounts to VR like Transcend is doing? I work for Transcend and am going to find another job due to that fact. It's a pity cause I liked my job until that happened. Webmedx sounds good, but if they are gonna do the same thing, I won't go there.
No. That's SLAVE CHANGE.
.