this is not totally illegal. it is sound business practice.
Posted By: and helps keeps down costs. NM on 2006-02-21
In Reply to: This is totally illegal. You cannot deny an - no way
.
Complete Discussion Below:  marks the location of current message within thread
The messages you are viewing
are archived/old.
To view latest messages and participate in discussions, select
the boards given in left menu
Other related messages found in our database
This is totally illegal. You cannot deny an
individual the right to earn a living based on prior conviction of a felony, so if that is going on, the insurance companies can be sued big time.
There is no such thing as a "standard business practice".
This is just another variant on the AHDI group-think. There is no standards body that has the authority to establish "standard business practices" for text communications among businesses.
If you mean that it became "common practice" to use one space, that's a very different thing than a "standard practice" - although I would not even concede even that much.
Vietnam sound bites..But either way, war was absolutely NOT illegal. He violated
x
Well actually it is a good business practice as far as saving money for share holders is concerned.
Why would a company pay for individuals who need health insurance, benefits, minimum wage, etc when they can ship work out of the country for half as much as is necessary to pay US worker. Not that it's a good thing for us, just that this is the way it is.
This may sound totally ridiculous
but when my daughter was in the 5th grade she read somewhere that you should eat raisins before an important test. She suggested it to her teacher and he wanted to give it a try. I don't know about the other kids but my kid tested off the charts. It may have just been a mental thought trying to prove the raisins worked, who knows. It is sort of like I have to buy a pack of peanut M-n-Ms before boarding a plane. Only then do I feel safe...go figure!
You and me both. MQ is totally sick. They had better find another type of business to get into
because they have failed miserably with this.
Unfortunately it is legal..so yes it is business and they will continue with bad business practices
x
I made my business your business by posting and...
I totally respect everyone's opinions. It is easier for others on the outside looking in. That's why I pushed the "post reply" button yesterday. I trust my fellow MTs and I know the more I read from you all, the more confident I am becoming. I just need that final push, not from him though. I also wanted to let you all know that the physical abuse while I was pregnant was documented by my doctor and the hospital. I only wish I had known then that it is a felony to abuse a pregnant woman. I also photographed my face from a couple of weeks ago and told several people in my circle. I had such high hopes for us. Now...not so much. I'm not saying that I won't try to get him to church, but I realize that God can only do so much for someone who isn't listening. j
Business is business. Internet forums are
.
It's not illegal
There is no law against surfing the net. You can have Vonage if your internet is considered high speed. There is another company called zerocents.com that is very reasonable and the quality is about the same as Vonage. Most regular phone carriers off some type of unlimited plan. Ours for Verizon was an extra 10. a month, an extra 30. for Southern Bell.
It's actually illegal for them to....sm
hold your check unless you signed an employment agreement at the beginning stating that you agreed to these terms.
Most employers I know of pay for the return shipping.
There is nothing illegal about
requiring 40 hours a week to be a full-time employee. Nothing whatsoever. You may not like that, but it IS legal. There is nothing illegal about requiring you to use PTO for time not worked.
I don't know if you are the original poster who began this thread, but the attitude of that post was that a 40-hour requirement is a problem. It isn't. You may not like it because you've been accustomed to less, but it is not a problem it is a standard. The original post for this thread has shed a light of doom, implying that things are just getting out of control and that MQ is asking more than they should of you by setting a 40-hour standard. Well, that's simply not true. It may be more than you're willing to commit to and, if so, then you should leave MQ. Otherwise, you'll just have to go along with it.
You may feel like all things are done to spite you with MQ, or other companies, but you're not thinking very logically if that is your take. If MQ doesn't have MTs, they will not be in business. However, they have to have a standard of what they can offer in exchange for your skills. If that exchange isn't good for you, then you don't have to accept it.
No one has forced anyone to work for this company. You made a choice to go with them. You've made a choice to stay with them if you are still there. You can make a choice to leave them if you want to.
Working from home has been a privilege. Some seem to believe that it in itself is standard but think again. Nurses don't work from home; physicians don't work from home; factory workers don't work from home; car salesmen don't work from home; fast food workers don't work from home, etc. We are a very privileged few who have this option.
What the original poster has stated is simply just the standard being set.
I guarantee you there is and will be a mechanism to protect you in occasional and unforeseen circumstances that might interfere with the normal expectation of a 40-hour commitment. However, just as with inhouse employees in every other industry, if you continually fail to meet that obligation without reason, without documentation of why, then you will be out a job. I have no doubt...that is how it is supposed to work.
You ask who I really am? I'm an MT. I've done this over 20 years. I've owned an MT business; I've worked as an employee and an IC; I've worked in hospitals, clinics, for medical research entities, for MT companies. I'm not in management. I'm not an editor. I'm not in QA. I work the same as you and the others here.
I don't defend illegal activities. I also don't see anything illegal happening here. Maybe it is taking away an advantage you have had and become accustomed to, but it nothing less than the standard for the rest of the world. If that bothers you, if you think you deserve more than the rest of the world, I suppose you are going to be sorely disappointed. I hate that for you.
As I've said before, MQ and other companies will never make many of you happy. If you have the ideal situation in your mind of what you want and need, then go find it. If you cannot find it anywhere, you'll have to create it. You can do it.
To sit here and complain over something that (1) you will not act on in a professional, mature, and accepted way to change (i.e., filling out a complaint form and documenting the problem), (2) causes others to become distressed, panicked, and/or overly concerned about something that you personally just don't like, and (3) insinuating that MTs have been done "wrong" with "illegal" activities by their employers IS whining. It is baseless. It is useless. It provides no constructive action. It only serves to keep others (who fall for it) in the same emotional turmoil you are in...and no one ever said it more true than with the old addage, "misery loves company."
That is illegal
They cannot legally call you after 9pm or before 8am. You need to call and report them. I can't remember exactly who you report those things to, but they can be fined big bucks. And if they are just a call center working for your CC company, both companies can be fined. Check the TCPA Act. If nothing else, maybe you can get enough money out of it to pay off the bill completely and tell them to shove it LOL
Illegal???
I've been an MT for quite a few years. I just started a new job at a hospital where my lead has been "making up" reports.
For instance: Medical records contacts her about a missing report. She cannot find that it was ever dictated. Instead of telling medical records that it was never dictated, she takes the patient chart, gleans the information from it and "makes up a report".
Isn't this illegal? And, if so, do I do anything about it? I'm new at this job and I don't want to appear to be a tattletale. And anyway, maybe medical records knows about it and is okay with it - then what?
illegal
I worked for a home care agency and a nurse in a MD office apparently did the same thing - well the patient ended up dying - by no fault of the MD - but the nurses note that she made up when she lost the original neglected some pretty darn important information and the family sued stating the work was not done - You meed to tell someone - when the crap hits the fan - it will be everyone who gets it not just the person creating information
MYs have far too much responsibility to let this go - we all want to be respected, and paid for our job - and keeping things legal is a very important part of this.
Illegal? Hahaha
Your so-called contract was a statement of what your rate would be at that time. It did not guarantee you any specific amount of work nor pay for any specified length of time.
Go seek help! Go seek an attorney! Throw more of the money you're losing to a cause you won't win.
It's disheartening, I agree. Spheris has done it...know what? They're still in business and they still have great MTs (along with the pitiful ones as well). A few jumped ship when it happened; some came back. New ones came on board. The company moved on and is doing better.
That is what will happen here. I'm not trying to downplay your reaction -- you are right to feel upset about it. But please, please don't waste more of what you are losing by seeking help where you won't find it.
Regarding the F9 feature -- absolutely no company is required to charge clients and pay employees on the same definition...and yes, there is a difference - it is called making a profit. If MQ (or any other MT company) wants to charge clients for a flat rate, a per-minute rate, a per-line rate, a combination of flat rate per report + lines, etc., but pay their MTs only a 65-character line...then that is their right. It isn't any MTs business what/how MQ charges their clients. That's business, period. Not just this industry either.
It IS your business that you be paid what you agreed to under your "contract". However, since they have adjusted their pay scale, that "contract" is null. You have the right not to accept it by quitting. You have as much right to nullify that contract as they do.
This is an exchange -- skills and services for money. If either party doesn't care for how the other is conducting/upholding their end, or if circumstances change, either party can leave. It is called employment at will.
Please, save yourself the money at least. Work on healing the heartache of it.
Oh, yes! Illegal drugs are fun!
I never even did drugs when I was a stupid teenager.
alcohol was illegal once too
Alcohol was illegal at one time too..Marijuana should be legalized, there is no reason not to legalize it. It will be legalized one day soon, Im sure. It is less harmful than alcohol.
It's illegal for a company to not...sm
make special accommodations for anyone who is disabled to help them work.
Yeah, but I LIKE being illegal!
Seriously, to me the whole issue of songs being illegal to download for free is dumb - music belongs to the people, not the record labels. And after being ripped off by all these labels for 30 years since I started buying records at ridiculous prices, I don't feel any guilt at all if I AM ripping off the record companies. These companies just don't like the advent of the Internet, but too bad - its the wave of the future! 
Just say your an illegal immigrant
x
It is not illegal. Could be harmful for the
employer-employee relationship, but not illegal.
There is no federal or state mandate that you receive any paid time off at all. It is completely at the company's discretion. Their policies on eligibility, accrual, disbursement and forfeiture are completely the company's own decisions.
Let me say this, however, in defense of companies with paid time off plans: The smartest plan of action you, as an employee, can take is to do a little planning and keep your paid time off balance low by taking it. If you wait until the end of the year, you do risk losing it if your company does not pay out accrued but unused paid time off. However, many companies do not pay for accrued but unused time; if you do not take it, you forfeit it. It is not intended as additional income but as a means of taking a rest from work while maintaining your regular income. It is a "benefit". You are better off taking it, planning on what you expect to have available, and keep the balance low or caught up.
In all honesty, having owned 2 business (1 MTSO and 1 non-MT business), my employees were well aware of how much paid time off they could count on and, despite warnings that we would still have staffing responsibilities to maintain, some would wait until the end of the year to take it. I felt absolutely no need to compensate them for not planning and taking a benefit I offered. It was not designed to give them extra income. I offered it as a benefit so they could take days off without losing income.
Illegal records
I worked for a hospital years ago and sometimes the dictation did not come through our system correctly even though the doc knew he dictated it. We had several docs who absolutely REFUSED to re-dictate, stating they dictated once and that was it. Several times, I personally had charts out of the hospital (which would scare me now to do this) at my boss' request and made up or gleaned from the chart the discharge summary. This was an orthopedic doc that I also worked for, by the way, so I practically knew what he was going to say before he said it. Several of us did quite a few charts like this as some of the docs WOULD NOT, absolutely WOULD NOT re-dictate and we needed the discharge summary and/or op report in the report. Scary or not, we did it. Don't know as I would do it now, though.
That is so illegal. My hubby is sm
also in health care administration. If the doctors don't dictate their charts, they are put on suspension I don't know how ANYONE could think that an MT has the right to "glean" information from a chart and make up a discharge summary.
That is absolutely totally nauseating to me that someone would "make up" a dictation! That is coming from an MT with a chronic illness and many hospitalizations! That is the scariest thing I have ever heard of.
MTs are not doctors and why any MT would take that kind of risk is beyond me. I would call Risk Management if it meant losing my job, but no way would I sit back and watch that go on.
I don't know what has happened in this profession in the last 30 years, but this is ridiculous. Unbelievable!
ILLEGAL WORKERS
Good for you, glad your experience worked out. Mine didn't. I got a bid for our lawn, which is huge, from a local landscaper, it (the bid) was huge. Unbeknownst to me, my dh had ordered sod and had a delivery date. Someone called from the landscaper with a revised bid ($400.00 cheaper) and I said okay, and took it because the sod was on its way the following day, no cancellations allowed (it was a whop-load, like four truck trailers). I cold not afford to lose all that money. I took the bid, not knowing what else to do and low and behold a mass of people showed up with the truck and guess who they were? Right! I was totally out of my element and just backed up out of the way as huge machine things sent the sod rolling off the trucks and these guys all grabbed some and started rolling it out. Four hours later, the foreman from the landscape company showed up and these evidently were "his men" who showed up (complete with children and dogs and yes, they did want beverages, etc). These kids ran rampant all over the place with little to no supervision. Seems the foreman was stabbing his employer in the back and did this frequently. He is a citizen, but his workers are not. Most ended up being his relatives. Never again! This is my one personal experience with this and I know that it goes on all the time from a neighbor who is a contractor. So, I still blame illegals and people who foster illegals. They need to go home and leave us to ours. I was railroaded that day and others are too. Be careful who you talk to at landcaping companies.
illegal aliens
A burglar is not an uninvited house guest. A car jacker is not an underrated driver. A bank robber is not making an unauthorized withdrawal. And illegal aliens are not undocumented immigrants. Let's not sugarcoat things. The correct terminology for the nearly 20 million people illegaly in the US is illegal aliens. By definition an alien is a person who comes from a foreign country. Thus an illegal alien.
Maybe if you practice what to say
before talking to her and then try to keep your cool. It is much better to be friends with your neighbors. Having a difficult neighbor can truly make your life miserable.
How is she going to practice? Does she have
s
practice, practice, practice
Apparently not being distracted by internet surfing and concentrating while using Expanders is the key. I haven't done more than 300 lph myself, but I don't have a lot of expanders.
I think it's illegal too. I find it hard to believe
you've earned. Talk to an attorney who specializes in employment law.
It is illegal if you found out someone's salary through
unauthorized methods, such as snooping in personnel files, but you can discuss your salary with others if you wish to.
Illegal immigrants do it as well as their employers and....sm
they're oftentimes working "x" hours a week or even full-time. It's a big problem here in Georgia because it's not fair that these people not only get the jobs that they're being paid cash for but then they show up in the ERs when sick and are given Medicaid to pay the bill, even though they're not US citizens. Their kids are given free education and right now the illegal immigrant groups are mad because the state of Georgia is planning to start making them pay out of the country tuition to the universities if they aren't documented legal residents - which I think they should be forced to do. Heck, if I were to get on a plane to say France I couldn't walk off the plane and demand that I be allowed into college at the local tuition rates just because I'm there - whether or not I were there legally.
There's some legislation going forward in January here to put a stop to some of this but of course the illegal immigrant groups are fighting it.
I don't mind paying someone cash if they're doing something rarely for me (i.e. once or twice a year).
For those of you who use say teenage babysitters do you really report every dime you give them to the IRS? What about when you go to a restaurant and tip the wait staff in cash? Do you make sure the manager knows you gave them a cash tip so it's reported? Ever have a neighborhood kid rake leaves for you? Do you pay Little Johnny and then demand his SS# to report you gave him $20 to the IRS?
In most states, if not all, it is illegal for a company
to charge you up-front for information about work, software necessary to work, etc. They should do a payroll deduction, still doesn't guarantee they are a legitimate company though.
How about the cops.....illegal drugs??? That should be
NM
hispanics are not the only illegal immigrants here in the US.
Depending in what part of the US you live in you will find more of one race than others. Think of it, are you willing to pick strawberries (back breaking work), cotton, or any other type of hard, physical labor? Most of the immigrants are humble and very hard working people (I am more familiar with the Hispanic culture).
oh please - there's lots of ways to get illegal
Coffee is illegal in Utah? sm
What gives? Gosh, I would move today if I had to drink coffee illegally.
Not able to drive for a company if illegal and
no license. The husband has job where he works for a company and there is no outsourcing on his job. You have to be a citizen, you have to have driver's license, you have to be insurable. It is not just a coming across the borders to get on with his job. Might be with others, ?? His salary has increased steadily over the 6 years he has been there. Was sorta talked into going into business as driver several years ago and I was totally against that, paid off big time for him. Excellent wages, excellent benefits for us, no complaints at all on this end.
I thought offshoring WAS illegal!!!
How do they get away with it if it's against HIPAA regulations?
Sounds lame and illegal
Right. 100% QA means the QA staff needs some auditing, not just the MTs. I assume by your screen name you are an MT in Nevada. I just went to the home page of the Nevada Labor Commissioner's Office and read this:
Q. How often must I be paid?
A. Wages must be paid at least semi-monthly.
Q. What can be deducted from my wages?
A. An employer may not withhold, deduct, or divert any part of an employee's pay other than benefits and those items required by federal and state law, unless the employee specifically authorizes the deduction in writing.
Sounds superficially like your job can't withhold pay from you...but if they are not in NV they may be able to under other state's lays. Check the state's Labor site and make a BIG stink with your managers. Ask them if THEY are getting paid. Good luck.
Be careful doing that unless you somehow block out the pt name - could be illegal. nm
?
Illegal immigrants are taking over the US..sm
Let me tell you this. It is unreal. I was visiting with a friend and we were discussing how many Mexican immigrants there are around here. I live in South Mississippi and used to be it was rare to see a Mexican immigrant around here. Well now they are everywhere. Her mom works in the dollar store in town and she said you wouldn't believe the number of Mexicans who come in and can't hardly speak any English. Well you know they are likely illegal because to get citizenship you have to be able to speak the language I believe to take the testing to become a citizen. I may be wrong of course. She said we have a group of them who have moved down the road. She said there are 60 believed to be illegal immigrants living in one cabin. 60 in one little house!!!! Can you imagine? There is no running water or electricity in this house either. Unbelievable!! To live that way!! They work picking blueberries locally. Well they have to be desperate because her husband is a cop and lives right down the road and he has suspicion they are illegal. Would you move right down the road from a cop if you were illegal?! It is like the US just turns the other cheek for them. Her husband says he can only pick up an illegal if there are a certain # in a group. He can't just pick up one or two. What kind of state is the country in who will not allow law enforcement to pick up illegals unless there is over a certain # of them in a group?
no, it's called illegal downloading - sm
and the key word is "illegal"
Partners in Practice
Partners in Practice does outsource.
Practice dictation
Does anyone out there know of a website where I could get some practice dictation? Have been away from transcription for a few years and want to get my "ear" back and some speed before trying to get back into it. Thanks for your help.
Family Practice
I was wondering if anyone has any ideas on what you should charge per line for a Family Practice of 4 physicians? I am interested in working for this practice that currently has been doing their own transcription (oh heaven help! lol), but did not know what would a fair rate to charge per line...thanks for any input! 
practice tapes sm
As usual, your answers are so much appreciated. I love this site, helping others is so important, I do it whenever I can as well. I believe in karma. Thanks again!
Practice dictation sm
This is a crazy question but I've had to take time off and feel really out of the loop. Never worked from home before. Is there any company who would forward some sample dication to let you kind of play with for awhile before you formally test for them? At this point, I don't think I'd pass the test although I've had plenty of acute care and specialty experience. I know it sounds really unprofessional but I thought I would at least ask. Hate to fail, spent too many years being a perfectionist, I guess. Are there any sites you could recommend for someone returning to the profession after a few years taking care of family business?
It's good practice.
I know it hurts at the moment, but it will help you in the long run to have a bigger variety of dictators and specialties. When I was doing radiology there were only about 15, and all but 2 were quite good. Now doing acute care again I may not have a repeat all day. It does make a big difference in production.
Practice tapes from?
I have heard practice tapes some give out that are almost perfect dictation- definitely not what you run into when you transcribe. Are you doing the "goodie" tapes or are they the real McCoy? The practice ones I have heard put in their periods, paragraph. Ha, very seldom hear that in real. What kind of work will you do, speciality or the 4s? I have my equipment as fast as it can possibly go and my salary has gone down in the past 4 years 20,000$ from the constant outsourcing the companies are doing. My speed is between 130-140 wpm and I make good only because I have my nose to the grindstone most of the day. By the way, independent as well but my company asked me for certain hours and which days. I have seen numerous posts on here saying you do not have to do it -but I wanted to work for this particular place and I accept it.
practice tapes from...
Practice tapes are real; slurring run-on sentences, gurgling muffled words, you name it. But, she gave me the printed reports to go with them, so if I really get stuck, i can look at them and find the answer. If you don't mind my asking, how long have you been in this, and what's your cpl? You work for an agency? Yes, my speed is concerning me. Thanks for your reply.
|
