I keep the unpaid bills on my desk

• Working at home. - How to stay focused?
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    • I do the exact same thing... take breaks often..nm - blondie
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  • I keep the unpaid bills on my desk - jmr
    • I just started that too. - MslaMT
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I was doing some research and just thought I would share it here. 

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http://en.allexperts.com/q/Employment-Law-924/2008/3/unpaid-training.htm

Question
I'm a part time security officer.  The contract is changing hands where i work (large corporate facility)...the location stays the same but a new company takes over the new contract next week.  The incoming company has advised everyone that they must attend a mandatory unpaid training class.  Is this legal?

Answer

Expert: Shirley McAllister, CPP, PHR
Date: 3/28/2008
Subject: unpaid training

It is not legal.

Here is the ruling from the Department of Labor Website at

http://www.dol.gov/esa/regs/compliance/whd/whdfs22.pdf

Lectures, Meetings and Training Programs: Attendance at lectures, meetings, training programs and similar activities need not be counted as working time only if four criteria are met, namely: it is outside normal hours, it is voluntary, not job related, and no other work is concurrently performed.

Since the meetings are not voluntary you must be paid to attend them.

FURTHER:

29 CFR 785.27 - General.
Attendance at lectures, meetings, training programs and similar activities need not be counted as working time if the following four criteria are met:
(a) Attendance is outside of the employee's regular working hours;
(b) Attendance is in fact voluntary;
(c) The course, lecture, or meeting is not directly related to the employee's job; and
(d) The employee does not perform any productive work during such attendance.

IF THE ABOVE 4 CRITERIA ARE NOT MET, THEN THE EMPLOYEE MUST BE PAID FOR THE TRAINING/MEETING TIME.

29 CFR 785.28 - Involuntary attendance.
Attendance is not voluntary, of course, if it is required by the employer. It is not voluntary in fact if the employee is given to understand or led to believe that his present working conditions or the continuance of his employment would be adversely affected by nonattendance.
__________________

ICs and unpaid trainings:

http://www.expertlaw.com/forums/showthread.php?t=59022

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FURTHER
(FROM http://www.dol.gov/elaws/esa/flsa/hoursworked/screen1d.asp)

Waiting for Work
Time which an employee is required to be at work or allowed to work for his or her employer is hours worked. A person hired to do nothing or to do nothing but wait for something to do or something to happen is still working. The Supreme Court has stated that employees subject to the FLSA must be paid for all the time spent in "physical or mental exertion (whether burdensome or not) controlled or required by the employer and pursued necessarily and primarily for the benefit of the employer of his business."

Place of Work
Hours worked include all the time during which an employee is required or allowed to perform work for an employer, regardless of where the work is done, whether on the employer’s premises, at a designated work place, at home or at some other location.
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DOL.GOV, WAGE AND HOUR OFFICES:

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Do MTSOs, nationals, usually pay for downtime for employees?  If so, what has been your experience - ever received downtime? your company's policy, i.e., pay for two days downtime?

Also, as an employee for a nat'l, if you have a set schedule, what do you do when very little work comes in, for example one dictation/hour?  At what point do you cut out?  I'm new to working for a national and this has happened a lot lately - I know, the holidays.  If there is little work, I usually only stay connected for two hours, let me sup. know, and call it a day. 

I swear, sometimes I hate this industry!!  Any other company, at least in my state, if there is no work, as an employee, you still get paid or after a certain period, you get unemployment...something!

you can get.    You can refuse a job, but the work will just go to India or some other country and the company can get rid of all but a few MTs who will edit the work. 

I have been in this business at least 20 years.  I make better than most people these days, but I have not had a raise in 5 years.  I have been offered at least 8 positions the past 6 months and not one of them offers what I make now.   I test very well, usually getting at least 98 on the highest level of testing,  I can do any ESL given to me, I do all Op notes, so I would be an asset to any company, but none will offer me what I am making now, much less offer me more. 

is withdrawn?

If you are carrying the lion's share of the bills, then you surely will be better off when you have cut the ties and are in your own place.

If he is carrying a good bit of the bills, and you are then responsible for them when he moves - whoa - think about this.  Will any childsupport you manage to get suffice for what you are taking on that he is paying now?

I have an old antique desk that was in my grandfather's accounting office.

If I were going to buy a brand new desk, here are some of the things that I would look for. 

Space on top of the desk - do you want a lot of stuff on the desk, or just room for the monitor and a cup of coffee.  I have a TV and 3 cat beds on my desk, so large works for me.  I would sit at the desk and check the height of the keyboard tray or the positioning of the keyboard.  Is it too high, too low, if you are seated appropriately, will it work for you.  Does the tray pull out and if so does that bring you too far away from the desk itself to see the monitor?  Is the tray adjustable at all?  If you have arms on your chair, will the arms fit below the desk, or will they bump into things.  Measure the space in your office where the desk is going to go and make sure you have those dimensions with you when you look at any other desk.  Is the monitor position exactly centered in front of the keyboard?  It amazes me when it is not.

Check the drawers.  Do they pull out easily and are they sturdy enough to hold all the stuff that inevitably ends up crammed in them.

Is there a designated space for the CPU?  If so, is it easy to get to the back of it in case you need to plug/unplug peripherals?  That part is important - I worked with one of those big computer desks and it was a PAIN to have to change things or plug things in.  What about spaces for the computer speakers (if you have peripheral speakers.)  Do you plug your headphones directly into the computer or do you plug them into the speakers?  Is the plug easy to get to?  I have to unplug my headphones and put them away every night or else they'll get gnawed on, so ease of plugging them in is important to me.

When it is delivered, will they put it together for you either for free or an extra cost?

I am a HUGE fan of online shopping, but I have to say that this is probably one thing that I would not buy online.  For something this large I would want to be able to see it and sit at it to see if it really works for my needs.

Happy shopping!

The cafeteria was a blue haze of cigarette smoke too even though the smokers could smoke at their desks.

The nonsmokers had to go outside to breathe during lunch instead of the smokers going out to smoke.

Now THAT is a change for the better.