Back Wages coming to DVC CMs

[com_op_2000]

Checkout this article:
http://www.mynews13.com/content/new...icles/cfn/2017/3/17/disney_to_pay_3_8_mi.html

 

[LAX]

Checkout this article:
http://www.mynews13.com/content/new...icles/cfn/2017/3/17/disney_to_pay_3_8_mi.html

I wonder how this will affect next year's annual dues.

LAX

 

[com_op_2000]

Update:
OKW CMs included in back wages.
http://www.wesh.com/article/disney-to-pay-back-wages-to-more-than-16000-workers/9148583

 

[disneynutz]

Disney posts billions in yearly profit and they don't pay employees money that they earned, disgraceful!

Bill

 

[drusba]

I wonder how this will affect next year's annual dues.

LAX

Interesting question. The amount involved is not much if I am understanding what happened correctly. The $3.8 million includes all the resorts, hotels and DVC, and thus the actual amunt applicable to DVC should be substantially less than $3.8 million, and then the share for any particular DVC resort will be much less than the total DVC share. A guess is that it is $200,000 or less per DVC resort, meaning likely pennies per point. What Disney apparently was doing was paying minimum wage or just above it to many and then also deducting from those wages a fee for the employee to pay for a Disney uniform and the cost of the uniform fee took the actual hourly wage to below minimum. In dues, we obviously would have contributed enough to cover the wages. The cost of the uniforms was undoubtedly paid over to some other entity (possibly another Disney entity) so it is not an amount sitting in the DVC accounts for other use.

DVC might try recovering it via dues to the members -- or as a possible joke goes, it is already recovering all of it with the high dues being charged for CCV. However, I see two reasons why it should not get it back from members. One is that this is the fault of DVC management and it should bear the cost of its own negligence. The other is that trying to recover the money from members could violate the annual budget agreement DVC makes in relation to each DVC resort, in that it will cover any costs applicable to the year that exceed the annual dues charged to members, and it make no special assessments. The only stated exceptions to that annual agreement are that DVC can still charge members for the excess sums that arise from paying the amounts not covered by insurance for repairing resort damage due to weather or natural disasters, and can still charge for any higher property tax assessments. For that agreement, DVC avoids having to pay annual dues on the portion of the resort in which it retains ownership. Charging members for the amounts DVC improperly withheld from employees during prior years, and thus trying to get more in dues than already charged and collected, should likely be prohibited under that annual agreement.

 

[tjkraz]

...trying to recover the money from members could violate the annual budget agreement DVC makes in relation to each DVC resort, in that it will cover any costs applicable to the year that exceed the annual dues charged to members, and it make no special assessments.

Agree with this. Since the back pay is due to be issued by July 31, 2017, DVC has already agreed that the published 2017 dues will make members whole on resort operating costs.

Since excess dues collections roll into capital reserves, Disney has every reason to err on the side of caution when calculating the budgets. Seems likely the investigation was already under way in 2016 so Disney may have prepared for this outcome.

There may be an adjustment for future years. Based upon the numbers presented, the adjustment is likely to be pennies per point. And it's a necessary adjustment to comply with labor law.

 

[tjkraz]

OKW has about 7.67 million points. If 700 CMs are receiving an average of $233 each, that's $163,100 or $.0213 per point. That would be the one-time payment for wages dating back to November 2013.

Admittedly the OKW payment may be larger than the $233 average since it's CMs appear to have been impacted the longest. Still, it doesn't appear this will have a significant impact on DVC dues going forward.

 

[drusba]

Since the back pay is due to be issued by July 31, 2017, DVC has already agreed that the published 2017 dues will make members whole on resort operating costs...

There may be an adjustment for future years. Based upon the numbers presented, the adjustment is likely to be pennies per point. And it's a necessary adjustment to comply with labor law.

I would doubt that any adjustment in future years dues, 2018 or after, can be made to cover any part of that settlement being paid. The 2018 budget will be for operational costs expected to be incurred in 2018 not 2017 or before. The whole purpose of the annual agreement is to prevent any operating costs applicable to a year in excess of the budgeted dues being assessed to members (except for the specific exceptions I noted). That is what the statute applicable to those annual agreements prohibits and DVC cannot circumvent the statute by just adding excess operational costs, such as the settlement amount, to a future year's dues -- if it could do that, DVC could always circumvent the intent of the statute by adding any excess costs applicable to one year to a subsequent year. The change that Disney can and will likely make for future years' budgets is either to pay for the uniform cost in 2018 or after in addition to wages, or add an amount to the employees' wages that will be applicable to the purchase of uniforms that occurs in 2018 or after.

 

[tjkraz]

I was only referring to a dues adjustment "for future years" to bring compensation practices in compliance with the law.

 

[marcyleecorgan]

Well.... reading that was quite enlightening! I'm very glad we tipped our housekeeper daily!

 

[KAT4DISNEY]

Didn't OKW have a larger dues increase this year? Couldn't they have built in the payment as I'd bet most anything they already knew they were in the wrong and going to pay.

 

[DenLo]

From the Orlando Sentinel: The agreement covers almost 700 employees who worked at the Old Key West Resort since November 2013. An additional 15,000 employees working at other Florida resorts since January 2015 also will receive compensation.

I wonder if the Department of Labor will look at all of the other DVC and Disney Resorts for that time period as well? Or does this agreement satisfy the error and only in the future will Disney/DVC need to truly pay minimum wage to their employees and have to pay for any extra work performed before or after their scheduled shift?

 

[tjkraz]

I wonder if the Department of Labor will look at all of the other DVC and Disney Resorts for that time period as well? Or does this agreement satisfy the error and only in the future will Disney/DVC need to truly pay minimum wage to their employees and have to pay for any extra work performed before or after their scheduled shift?

I don't see any reason to believe that other investigations are pending. Old Key West was only singled out because its issues dated back to 2013. The additional 15,000 employees likely encompass a variety of resorts--including DVC--perhaps theme park workers too.

 

[APiratesLifeForMe2]

I recently took a payroll class and both of these issues were covered. It's kind of payroll 101. Can't believe a company like Disney messed up.

 

[rocketriter]

The amount involved is not much if I am understanding what happened correctly...

Nothing wrong with asking if this will impact member dues. But it's important to keep in mind, as part owners, what kind of company we'd like Disney to be and what quality of on-the-ground operation we'd like it to perform. Underpaying employees in order to benefit shareholders shortchanges both employees and the customers who depend on those employees. That's a big deal compared to the couple of bucks this will cost us per year.

 

[disneynutz]

Nothing wrong with asking if this will impact member dues. But it's important to keep in mind, as part owners, what kind of company we'd like Disney to be and what quality of on-the-ground operation we'd like it to perform. Underpaying employees in order to benefit shareholders shortchanges both employees and the customers who depend on those employees. That's a big deal compared to the couple of bucks this will cost us per year.

And if they make these types of business decisions or errors, do we just assume that DVC is immune?

Bill

 

[gmboy95]

I recently took a payroll class and both of these issues were covered. It's kind of payroll 101. Can't believe a company like Disney messed up.

I think thats the point, they didn't mess it up, they got caught

 

[jerseyduke]

I think thats the point, they didn't mess it up, they got caught

BINGO!

 

[Wakey]

Well.... reading that was quite enlightening! I'm very glad we tipped our housekeeper daily!

But for anywhere else in the World outside North America, it seems crazy that a company charging so much to make such healthy profits has to get its customers to pay its staff a living wage.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

Disney posts billions in yearly profit and they don't pay employees money that they earned, disgraceful!

Bill

I recently took a payroll class and both of these issues were covered. It's kind of payroll 101. Can't believe a company like Disney messed up.

___________

It's not isolated whatsoever to Disney. The large insurance company I previously worked for was sued by the DOL due to nearly the same issues. Actually when I first got hired we filled out our time sheets on a computer at the end of the week but it was in 15 mins parts so if you stayed 16 mins past your shift you got paid for 15 mins worth but if you stayed 10mins past your shift you didn't get paid for it.

You think Disney's time period is bad...my company's was TEN YEARS worth. One day people showed up with checks to hand out and for those no longer working in that area it was mailed to them.

It used to be that you were expected to come in and start your computer up (as the jobs were desk related) but the software programs took a while to load..you weren't getting paid for that time that was being used for the Company.

So the result from all of the DOL lawsuit was we were shifted to being paid BY THE MINUTE. If you're a minute late you're docked a minute's pay. If you stay a minute longer then you're paid for that minute. This included your lunch time period too. And you were not allowed to touch your computer til your official shift start time and you had clocked in.

It is something that happens across industries but yes it sure does give Disney bad PR and no it isn't a good thing at all.