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Isn't it also illegal on both ends to work for FREE?

Posted By: Whoa!! Hold on!! on 2008-09-04
In Reply to: Exactly. You should never work for free. - sm

There are labor laws in the United States, right? I have been an IC and MT, never an MTSO or subcontractor, but my husband has, and when he subbed out work or had temporary workers, he had to file 1099s for them at the end of year, etc. We can't even employ nannies off the books anymore in the USA, right? Second, on reading the OPs follow-up posts, something is way sharky about the OP. Not an innocent newbie at all, by the tone of things. Now he/she is running radio ads? Working getting paid twice what they should be? Whatever on earth that means, and I'm sure none of us are interested. Just a waste of board space, again. In fact, shouldn't this post be removed, since they basically admit they are ADVERTISING for work?? That doesn't stay on Company board and should be removed. Can someone tattle, please?


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Whole other can of worms...Illegal on company's side illegal, but (sm)
Retaliatory firing for contact with government oversight agency is illegal in all cases (Whistleblower's laws). It is hard, however, to prove retaliation because company can fire for breech of policy (working overtime when not approved, etc), can railroad you until you quit or they pick up enough nitpicky things to justify termination, or in most states for no reason at all (shaky if you've been to labor board). Whether reported or not, it opens a whole can of worms, and not everybody is going to be happy with the consequences (just look at the MQ saga). IMO solely, if OT is not specifically approved, don't work it. If you want to work it and not put it on your time, feel free (but that is fraudulent records if you're caught - again grounds for termination if anybody cares, which they usually won't unless under scrutiny by oversight agency). If you ask for and get approval beforehand, everybody's happy.
But its illegal to tell IC they cant work wherever they
x
That's illegal - an IC cannot be made to work sm
either a schedule, a set number of hours, or mandatory overtime.
it's not illegal to look for an IC that will work when THEY NEED THEM to. Why hire someone to wo
it's not illegal to look for an IC that will work when THEY NEED THEM to. Why hire someone to work morning when you need nights for example.

Why hire someone to paint your house blue when you wanted orange?

Why hire a male stripper when you wanted a female stripper?

If you need someone for certain hours, you can request that person or IC to work those hours or not get work. Simple as 1-2-3.
Don't you work for free?
I'd be nice to you too if you were making me all that money for a little info that you should have got in school.
Regardless, it is work done for free.
It's horrible that one would think that we should not get paid for any work/data that is entered by us, whether it be 1 or 10 keystrokes.  It is my time and I am not doing it for free.
What do you mean work for free?
Maybe I should specify that when I stated dock I meant QA score being docked.  Maybe you were thinking money/pay??  LOL
unless you like to work for free
stay away due to the recruiter and the company as a whole unless you like to work for free...just do a search and you will read plenty of negatives on this shameful company and all of their affiliates.
Yes, if she actually wants work, free or otherwise,
most indeed count, then an MT will have resume, advertisement, whatever free of errors. As someone who did a lot of hiring, I can tell you that if there was even one so-what error, as you say, the resume was passed over. If you can't proofread something as important as a resume or request for work, then it's hard to fathom you will proofread medical reports any better. I hope she took the advice and watches more carefully next time, rather than listen to advice that it doesn't matter.
Exactly. You should never work for free.
Our industry is bad enough for newbies without starting a trend wanting them to work for free....
I would not work for free -
If they are not answering her phone calls, do you think they are going to give her a good refrence anyway? She needs to report them to somebody, post their names here and warn everybody, and not do another report for free! Of course they are going to keep giving her work - they are getting paid.
Great if you want to work for free!

To the person who wants to work for free
I have been a successful MT for three decades. I suggest that you: 1. Not work for free. People get what they pay for and besides, you are undermining hardworking MTs by this ill-conceived plan. Life is difficult enough for working MTs without being undercut by their own, or at least by a wannabe. 2. You need to learn basic proofreading skills. If you cannot proofread and eliminate the errors from your on-line ad for yourself, how will you proof the work I sub out to you? Why should I trust you with my clients' work? How you proof anything is how you proof everything. Not being critical, just trying to offer a helpful and practical view. Compete honestly in the marketplace, pay your dues, earn your place and don't give away the professionalism you are trying to develop. Good luck to you.
farming out work for free
I totally agree that too many people have been out stealing identities, in fact, it just happened not too long ago at a Michigan hospital that an MT subcontracted her work and stole the patient's SS #s and is now going to be prosecuted along with the person who gave her that work without letting her employer know! She should get a real job who hires newbies and who have QA to check it! There are plenty of adds I have seen on this board offering newbies jobs for lower pay, but stil!
I'm beginning to wonder if that's how he gets his work done for free.
testing MTs. Lol.
Lets all work for free
VR is awesome to fly thru reports and if your good, you could make a great pay check...but the more peeps who take 3 cents, the more the companies who pay compenative rates thin they can get away with it...when i started to do VR i was paid 9 cents a line, 6 yrs ago...now they try telling us 3 cents a line is good....BULL..give us our work back and stop offshore..cuz they get less and like it so it brings our rates down lower
Free enterprise. You are free to re-educate and retrain, as well!!!!
What's the complaint?!

Same thing here with the co. I work for..free time is

ok sometimes but I really want to work!


You are so right and the ones who work for free should be flogged. Everyone deserve to be....
compensated for their time, effort, and dedication and what a slap in their face to get paid 1 cpl, if they are lucky. With this company, they would be hard pressed to get get anything so if nothing is really want they value their worth at, then go for it. I find it almost pathetically sad and any company that does this should be ashamed.
Don't accept job unless you wanna work for free
Your right DIT ONCE was a great company to work for..That was when Donna Dana had ownership in and ran the company..DIT has continued to pass bad checks since about October of 2008.  Oh yeah, they say you will get paid..and they do send out replacement checks...but they bounce also...They have changed banks three times...I could go on and on as well as MANY others...There are MANY, MANY emails circulating from employees or former employees about these issues.  They are JUST about to get themselves in legal trouble as there are MANY lawyers who have been contacted on this and are working on this issue...It's is a very sad situation for what was once an AWESOME company to work for..
Don't accept job unless you wanna work for free
Your right DIT ONCE was a great company to work for..That was when Donna Dana had ownership in and ran the company..DIT has continued to pass bad checks since about October of 2008.  Oh yeah, they say you will get paid..and they do send out replacement checks...but they bounce also...They have changed banks three times...I could go on and on as well as MANY others...There are MANY, MANY emails circulating from employees or former employees about these issues.  They are JUST about to get themselves in legal trouble as there are MANY lawyers who have been contacted on this and are working on this issue...It's is a very sad situation for what was once an AWESOME company to work for..
Do they give psychological tests also to allow you to work for them for free? It's

   LMAO!


 


Apparently, they undercut because they have MTs who work for free and the hospitals had to pay them.
I know people didnt intend on working there for free but it sounds like too many MTs didnt get paid.
of course men don't work for free; and they typically get paid better than women
and they are definitely jerks - all of them - they suck and they know it, and we are not impressed
So you work for free? Typical male response, jerk.
nm
Kinda sounds like you got scammed into doing some free work for them. I'd bail. They are underhan
I wouldn't trust anyone who does business like that.
Ho-hum, it never ends.
And exactly what is it about the board policy that you don't understand? There are so many people on here who seem to know everything, but obviously can't read well enough to abide by the no bullying/harassing policy. Is it really such a hard habit to break? Sad.
It never ends does it?
QA oversteps their bounds, they interpret things the way they like to interpret them, and they hate being told on.  So, let's just admit that as an MT we try our best to make it all jive, follow client specs, and meanwhile make a living.  All we ask is that QA have an open mind.  Not everyone is exactly alike.  I can say that I have argued QA myself and won.  I will not be bullied by a QA person just because they feel they have an upper hand.  We are all in this together.  To simply state that an MT needs to work on it when the client spec does not tell the MT what to do and then the MT gets a bad grade is just plain ridiculous.  Without the MT, there'd be no QA, so let's get real! 
Well one is in DC, name ends with ETC,
email me if that is the one, I'm testing for this one and will drop plans if this is IT
Sheesh! The BS never ends in this
business.  I was told for sure that it was all accounts. What a surprise.  Just another line. Doesn't this get tiresome?  Thanks for clarifying.  Guess they saw me coming.
Unless your account ends up in
But nothing personal.  It's a merely a business decision. 
It's been my experience that it ends on your last day worked. nm
xxxxxxxx
Usually pay period ends on the 15th and last

day of month.  Then you get paid somewhere around the 22nd for pay period ending on 15th and get paid around the 6th for pay period ending on the last day of the month.  If you work as an IC you may could expect pay one day after submitting an invoice, but if you work for a company it takes time to process payroll and then if DD it has to be submitted and it takes more than 1 day for that. 


When I worked for KS took me almost a month to get my first check. 


If you file the SS-8, there are consequences on both ends - sm

You will be asked to refile your taxes for the period in question.  This could help you or hurt you depending on your situation.  Things you were able to deduct fully may not be fully deductable as an employee or rather than a tax credit, they are now tax deductions which can at times help you or hurt you. 


I had a determination for a five year period and it was a wash.   There were also no penalties on my end.  The company on the other hand, did incur huge penalties and interest.  In the end, the only one who really gained was the IRS.  The company i worked with is now defunct.


There is no big windfall to the IC so if you hear of anyone who tells you they received a huge chunk of change by filing the SS-8, I'd think long and hard about believing it.  It may be possible, again given their tax situation, but highly doubtful. 


Listen, you know if you are being treated like an employee or an IC.  You have a choice - continue your working relationship if you are generally happy, or move on and find a better fit.  This has been going on for decades - control by the MTSOs and compliance by the supposed ICs, but I dont see anything changing anytime soon. 


Be careful before you go tilting at windmills :)


FIND A DIFFERENT PROFESSION IF YOU DON'T WANT W/ENDS!!
Are you dense people? You are expendable and someone will be glad to work the weekends. No wonder most of you are in low paying jobs you are afraid to leave, you can't aspire to anything more! Women are crazy. How many male MTs are there who come here and complain on a daily basis?
12+ hours a day, 30 yrs exp, and can't make ends meet?
How many lines do you type in that 12+ hours a day? What is your line rate? Get incentives?

Even if you typed 100 lines an hour, that's 1200 lines a day at 8 cpl that would $96 a day.

What in the world are you paying for rent?! lol
Current payperiod ends this Sunday 8/26...sm
Payday is 9/3 (but believe that is the holiday so not sure how that works). Pay is every other week on Mondays, so the following PP will be paid on 9/17. PPs run Mon-Sun. HTH
Sounds like my company - starts with T, ends with D.
No work to be found.
I hope I'm a patient whose care ends up
being compromised by all this 'robot transcription' cr@p. Then I'll find me a good lawyer, and sue, sue, sue my way to a happy and wealthy retirement.

LOOK OUT HOSPITALS AND CLINICS - READY OR NOT, HERE I (AND THOUSANDS LIKE ME)COME!
Pay period ends on 15th, checks on the 20th. This
is pretty standard industry-wide. 
You certainly are a lucky ducky. Wait until the honeymoon ends.
x
This drama NEVER ends! It is SOOOOOO scary, and so boring at the same time!
Now Lee will come on, with an empassioned plea to please call her, and yada, yada, the misunderstandings. This person left, or that person left, or now a new bolt of lightning. It is getting ABSURD to have this regurgitated at least weekly on this board!  Same old, same old. I would NEVER work for Keystrokes, and can't imagine anyone falling for this saga and applying.  Something is VERY wrong in KS land.
Free sure. There are free on-line fax

services, in fact I used one last week.   Most do have limits on how often you can use and how many pages though.  You obviously would have to scan pages into a document, but maybe she doesn't have a scanner either.


She could have mailed paperwork back. 


This is illegal if... sm
If you are an employee and do not meet the exemption requirements by the Dept. of Labor, they have to pay you OT if you have to report your hours. If you are salary this does not apply because you are exempt. But if you work more than 40 hours a week as an employee of any company, they are required to pay you OT at at least 1.5 your regular rate.

SHOULD BE ILLEGAL
That's right. If they pay you on production, then you should be able to actually see it for yourself, not go by what they say. They refuse, because they know what they're up to, and I agree that if it is illegal, it should be ABSOLUTELY ILLEGAL.
There was nothing illegal about it
They were telling me that they were letting me go - had given all my doctors to other MTs over a time period. So, when they emailed me - I just called the unemployment office, since they didn't need me any longer and filed. The particulars had to be hashed out between the state and KS - not me. I then went to work as an IC - searched for employment every week as required - and filed as was required. There is nothing illegal about it - but in the transcription field, there are many more IC jobs than employee jobs, thus the difficult job search. I am happy where I am now and - and I think KS might have learned a lesson - but somehow I doubt it.
That is illegal
You need to report them to the wage and hour commission and get out of there fast.
While same co. is doing something illegal and
x
They also don't pay for OT, despite it being illegal not to. nm
 
Nothing illegal about it, just not a very
smart way for the facility to set up the demos. Why would you think it is illegal???
yes it is illegal! They have set the sm
requirements for the job. The requirements they have set makes that an employee job and not an IC. Check out the IRS regulations. It says, you MUST, you MUST, please do not apply if you can't work these hours, etc. I take exception to the part especially where she says do not apply if you want a higher wage, etc. This kind of stuff is why the MT profession is in the mess its in.

I am sure she will get somebody who really needs a job but they are getting a raw deal and this kind of stuff perpetrates more of the same!!!!!!!!!