FLSA Engaged to Wait labor law
Posted By: Mike on 2009-06-11
In Reply to:
Below I see there are a few posts in response to my followup of no work. Hopefully the point that was made of turning in MTSOs who do not comply with the engaged to wait law was not lost.
While it is true you can collect unemployment for no work being availabe, the point was if the MTSOs are regularly turned in for requiring MTs to check back for work during their work schedule without pay, the MTSOs may finally get the idea that they are not above the federal FLSA laws.
If you look at numbers 3 and 4 on the website below, I think it will give more explanation of what the law is. Mainly, if you can only check for work or complete what work comes in from your home computer, that is the same as being restricted to the company's premises, so you are engaged to wait. The time spent waiting is to be compensated. You can also contact the Department of Labor in your state and they will explain it to you.
If the MTSOs don't get away with constantly fooling the MTs into thinking they have the right to make the MTs check back for work, then maybe they will quit this practice of overhiring to get the ultra quick TATs they all seem to want now, which is ultimately at the MTs expense.
http://www.hrresource.com/articles/view.php?article_id=1254
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engaged to wait a fed labor law
ENGAGED TO WAIT federal labor law
Its against the law, plain and simple. These mtso's need to be brought down one by one for noncompliance.
You can stay anon with the Board if you wish while filing the complaint against the mtso, but if you wish to file for compensation for BACK WAGES then you need to of course give your name etc.
After recieving your back wages, if the MTSO tries to fire you or make it hard on you, then in most case's you will have a great civil rights case or harrasement case against that particulat mtso. Here is the link to contact!! Just for starters scrowl down to waiting time!! BTW this is an Adobe PDF file.
http://www.dol.gov/esa/WHD/regs/compliance/whdfs22.pdf
This is not frivolous litigation-Filed by FLSA nm
nm
It may have to do with their labor law of ...sm
anything over 8 hours is considered overtime and must be paid 1.5x even if you work 12 hours one day a week.
It is no longer anything over 40 hours per week but anything over 8 hours a day. That, my friend, will cost the company plenty of money.
That is why companies are not hiring California MTs.
You might want to try IC positions......and not employee.
Labor Day. nm
You have to be IC because of labor laws sm
I don't know of any companies like this because they have to verify the # of hours you work. Most places require a set # of hours per week, if you are full time often 32-40 hours, PT 20-32. All I have dealt with require the hours be met more importantly than the lines, they have to have staff to cover set hours for client needs. If your lucky enough to type 250 lph, apply for part-time, then you'll only have that 6 hour day you are looking for and not be obligated to type longer, then if you don't meet the line requirement in that time, you'll still have room to type longer without costing the company OT if you need to type another half hour or hour longer than expected to get there. These companies have to be very careful to keep track of the hours because they are required to pay OT for anything over 40 hours, and they have a minimum line count so they know the have people that can get the work done instead of people that aren't disciplined to type from home. All of this is just what I have seen in my 12 years as an MT, may be different for other MTs.
US labor laws
Maybe this company is claiming ignorance of US labor laws b/c they are based far, far away. I have no idea, really. It's a lame excuse if that's their thinking. Something's very wrong at this company!
labor board
Oh boy, I worked for a place like this. They didnt actually threaten the IC's...but...the first time an IC was not available they would send them an email and say that their services were no longer needed. They held IC's to a schedule and let them go if they didnt work the scheduled hours, so yep, agree with you, they say IC, but expect EMPLOYEE like hours and schedule.
So they are not doing offshore labor only?
Are you the OP?
SWEATSHOP LABOR -
c
Contact PA Labor
Oh, well if you were not a part of the HMC account, by all means if you were not paid, email me and I will give you our contact at PA Labor and Industry. Im sure he would be interested in hearing your story, as the Marinos are just pleading innocence to all our woes. You could be another cog in their wheel. Email me and I will give you his name.
PA Labor Board & D&L
They already have my information as well as the PA Sates Attorney's office.. There were a lot of us that quit in and around August, because when the big account people left, they ran out of money to pay us too! My question is what did they do with all the money that we made on the other accounts that were not a part of the big hospital account. Heard they (Marino's) live pretty high on the hog partying it up and jet setting or at least trying to keep up with the high society. Sounds to me as though they have a Champagne appetite with a Beer pocket book.
Ive used the Labor Board, and they definitely get
}:) heh heh heh
Labor board.
x
IC labor laws
HAPPY THANSGIVING... Could somebody point me in the direction I am needing to get the independent contractor labor laws. And can an employer tell you that you can submit your work in an e-mail if you cannot get into your system. Doesn't that break confidentialty laws? Anyway I am needing to know how IC work, works. Can I set my own hours? If I am too sick to work for a day and I tell my employer can they charge me a penalty fee?
I would appreciate any help I can get.
If I were you, I'd be at the Labor Board the next day
Even dinging employees' pay for mistakes is pretty low, but since you never typed these reports, I don't see how they think they can legally deduct your pay for not typing them. It would be sort of like if the government siphoned money out of your SS fund, to cover all the years you didn't work because you weren't born yet.
Ripoffs like the one you describe are exactly why your State Labor Board exists. Go sic 'em on that low-life employer of yours!
Labor laws
That is because a lot of MTSOs abuse the IC status. They treat the MTs like employees instead of ICs. Many years ago I worked for a service that fired someone. That person went to the Labor Board and the service had to pay back employee taxes on everyone. We all had to get a second account to satisfy the State that we were ICs and not just working for one company, which they considered a employee situation.
labor is not the only expense
an MT company has so your figures, while interesting, don't show the whole picture.
Labor laws
Why was your last thread locked?
go to the department of labor web site
and check out their TAA and ATAA page --Trade Adjustment Asisstance Program and Worker Adjustment and retraining and notification act. Congress was talking about extending benefits for people who have lost their jobs due to offshoring. My heart goes out to your all.
thanks for the support, Labor Dept. did say ... sm
that they will investigate and they will get compensation for me on lost investment earnings. MW sent me a check for what they withheld from my pay but denied my request for 4% interest that I would have gotten in my money market account. I truly hope this is just my problem and not the other 133 participants in MW's 401(k) plan. I have not been in the plan long enough to be vested so their contributions don't matter to me personally.
I'd pay a little visit to the LABOR BOARD, myself. sm
Many years ago, my last paycheck from an MT company I worked for BOUNCED. Not, once, but TWICE. (I put it thru a 2nd time at the owner's branch). So, I went to the Labor Board for help. They not only got me the money from the last paycheck, but also some insurance reimbursement I was owed to me. Apparently this had happened to others at that place, as well. A former co-worker told me the L.B. paid the COMPANY a visit one day, and they went through her office with a fine toothed comb. Found lots of illegal little problems going on, and put her out of business for good. What goes around, COMES around! ;p
That Acetera is going offshore labor only? NM
.
If Indian labor is so cheap, how come.......
there are getting to be so many Indian-based companies here and in India, owned by Indians? Do you think maybe this is a lucrative field for owners of transcription companies?
Only ran out of work for 1 hour after Labor Day. (sm)
Usually always work in primary, if not secondary and tertiary kick right in and seem to be plentiful.
For those new hires or people considering TT, ask the recruiter and she will let you know if they are hiring in anticipation of another new account or not. That should help alleviate your worries.
It's a great company, well worth riding the slight ups and downs with.
Labor Relations Board
might be another place to check in your state or the attorney general in the state, what we used in passed experiences
to break labor laws?
x
labor boards and lawyers
A nice thought, but in today's economy, it is an employer's market. And we are ....hate the dreaded word....human resources, commodoties to used up and discarded. The only way anything could be achieved is if none of us had to eat during the time it took to get organized. Got a plan?
Over the Labor Day holiday people were
crabbing the work was low. But that was the end of the summer holidays as usual anywhere when everyone including docs take their kids on vacation. Aside from the usual lulls from holidays we are busy. This MT has several accounts and I for one have rarely run out of work. If it ran low during the holiday, I would take a break and come back and there would be reports there. Now there is the usual amount of plenty of work as far as I can see. They do keep things in TAT, but staff accordingly as you need to let them know your intended line count so they will have enough work for your projection. They, in turn, staff accordingly.
They need to be reported to the Labor Board..sm
and their names posted. Another example of MTSOs pushing as far as they can before we MTs cry, Ouch! They know they are breaking the law.
Contact the labor department.
They will investigate and fine them for not paying in employment taxes, etc., as by having to ask for time off, vacation, etc., that means you are an employee and not an IC.
Every state's Dept. of Labor has...sm
rules and regulations re. unfair labor practices. I don't just mean the BS with the IC and set schedule baloney. What about:
1. Requiring an employee to work a set schedule of hours, but not being paid for your time, just the actual lines produced during those hours.
2. Being told during your set, scheduled shift/hours (which you're not being paid for, remember?) that, sorry, no work or work is slow, but you can't take the day off, because, what if everybody decided to take the day off. Ergo, must sit glued to seat until work comes in. Needless to say, line quota not able to be met in the specific schedule you're bound to but not paid for.
3. Told at end of week you must make up line quota or, (take your choice):
a) Lose bennies for that month.
b) Expect a phone call (who is paying whose phone bill? I know who's paying mine, and that's why the Almight invented voicemail).
c) You lose job w/o cause... it's in agreement, after all. Hire Indians or other US MTs who are desperate and who'll work for $0.01 less than you are.
d) We take your first-born (That's next.. with what they are allowed to get by with).
d)
Two words. LABOR BOARD.
labor board only helps if you are
x
Dept of Labor and All Other Agencies
PAYROLL ISSUES: Visit the web site of your state DOL. The federal DOL has hired 3,000 to handle the overflow of complaints. Complete paperwork for a complaint, send registered mail, then give them a followup call. They DO follow up.
EEOC: Discrimination by disability, age, gender, race, religion, etc. They have hired thousands of new mediators to handle case overload and are approving more cases for trial than ever before.
RETIREMENT FUND FRAUD: Visit the ERISA web site; they act fast and audit anonymously and take this issue absolutely seriously. They also represent you legally.
SOFTWARE LICENSING VIOLATIONS: Illegal software installed on your PC by employer can get YOU in trouble. Contact the BSA (Business Software Alliance) with any questions. They take online complaints either anonymously or, if you want to be placed on the reward list, they will audit your computer and if there is a licensing violation, reporters receive from $5,000 to $100,000 in rewards for reporting illegal or unlicensed software use. BSA investigates for Microsoft as well as any other proprietary NON-public software.
INSURANCE EXCLUSION/FRAUD: ERISA and state DOL. Also, look up the consumer protection agencies in your state; there may be an additional Insurance Commission.
Keep a diary, keep good, accurate records (dates, times, calls, emails); this information will prove to be priceless :)
Labor Board Question - sm
Will the Labor Board listen to you if you are an unpaid IC or is this organization only for employees? 
Is it possible to retain anonymity so that the company you contract with does not retaliate?
Won't help with the cheap labor issue though.
nm
Contacting labor board.
Could some one tell me how to go about contacting the labor board about an issue with my employer? Since I am a remote MT do I contact the labor board in my state or the state my employer is based? This has to do with pay that I believe was deliberately shorted out of my paycheck as a retribution because I did not type reports on my secondary account that were approaching TAT when I was contacted about it by instant messenger an hour after my shift was over. I wasn't even at my desk an hour after my shift was over. I also found out a couple days after the fact that an email from my account manager's supervisor was sent to an email account I no longer use stating that I was requested by my AM to type some reports so they don't go out of TAT and would I please log on and complete these reports.
Now, lo and behold, my paycheck will be short by almost 800 lines because these 800 lines supposedly sat in QA and weren't completed by the time the pay period ended, even though my shift ended at 4 p.m. on the last day of the pay period. I have worked for this company for a whole year and this is the first time I have ever heard that the MT is not credited the lines produced until cleared by QA...and I'm not even on 100% QA. Furthermore, I can't see how I would have even SENT 800 lines to QA in a day. After multiple emails to both my AM and her supervisor requesting some sort of documentation where these lines went to, I still have heard nothing in regards to this and I'm fed up. Is this something the labor board will even handle?
Letter from Department of Labor
Has anyone received a letter from the Department of Labor from the state where your employer is located, indicating they are investigating the company regarding various contract laws? I work for a wonderful company and can't imagine why they would be investigated, unless this is another way to squeeze out medical transcription companies and send everything to India to reduce healthcare costs.
Go to the Department of Labor website
It is fully explanatory there. It does not apply to at-home MTs unless they have 50 employees working within a 75-mile radius of them.
International Labor Partner
Check with Dept. of Labor. We are in sm
no way considered pieceworkers. Unemployment may not see it that way, but we are officially classified by the US Dept of Labor as a class of employees who need to make at least minimum wage no matter what.
ILP = International Labor Poachers
NM
Remember the guy in the labor camp
when the Jodes were on the way to California telling about watching his little children die of starvation? I have that movie and everytime I want to feel sorry for myself for any reason I drag it out and watch it. Really makes a person stop and think.
link to DOL - Labor Laws
It is against the law to be fired for turning your company in. If you have a complaint file it. Also, it is the responsibility of the company to keep a log of all hours worked for each employee. The way we are treated needs to come to an end! I cannot take it anymore and am getting out of the MT world after 10 years of working from home. I signed up for some classes at my local college and am actively job hunting. For everything that we have to know to be good at this job we are way underpaid. Ten years ago, I was making more as a newbie than I am now. I may have to start out at the bottom with a new profession, but at least I know I will work my way up...instead of working my way down as an MT. I hope a lot of people read the posts I have put on here and take action. It is scary to go out there after 10 years of being at home, and after all the abuse we have endured our confidence is down, but we are all smart, hard working women and we deserve better.
http://www.dol.gov/dol/topic/wages/index.htm
File a Complaint with Labor Board
File a complaint with labor board in their state and familiarize yourself with the complaint form for retaliation in case they try to penalize you.
Child labor laws haven little or nothing to do with it. sm
If children aren't developing a decent work ethic, or expect things handed to them, that's something they're learning at home (or, rather, /not/ learning at home). I'd look first to the parents before I'd start blaming outside influences.
Is it Wage & Hour or Labor Board...sm
To help get payment. MW is trying to screw me - gave my lines to somebody else and are dragging their feet BIG time. Gonna report them, tired of it and need my money.
Dept. of Labor phone number
For Labor Dept, your point of contact depends on where you live I believe. The number to start with is 866-444-3272. Good luck, and please post if you learn anything new. This has been going on for me for nearly a year and not resolved.
I guess my point about the Labor Dept....sm
in my attempt at humor was not clear. I reported this to the Labor Dept. over a year ago and we are close to a resolution, but it is taking this long. I don't allow a company to steal from me without making a lot of noise, believe me!
That's so illegal - turn them in to Dept of Labor. How can they sm
doctor your time sheet? You mean you don't have any way to verify your HOURS worked? that's scary.
Loyal to scammers & sweatshop labor?
We all know they aren't the slightest bit loyal/appreciative/aware of, any of their employees. To believe that is to be REALLY naiive.
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