Work vent

[jen0610]

Let me start by saying, I very much appreciate the fact that I do have a job to vent about, with the way todays job market is. But after 4 years, some of this is getting old.

I work for a company that currently has 15 full time employees in the office and about 100 drivers. Of the 15 office employees, it is a 5/10 women:men ratio. All of the men are salaried paid postions, all the women are on an hourly time clock punched paid postions. Per the employee hand book, at Christmas, we get as paid holidays Christmas day off as well as the day before or the day after off.

Come Monday afternoon, no one has said exactly which day we would have off, the 24th or 26th. The boss asked me which I prefer. I told him I would prefer to have the 26th off, but on the 24th I have no problem with working a shortened day, but I had work that I would need to get done on either the 24th or 26th. He talks to a couple of the other girls, they both say the told him 26th off, short day 24th as they have work as well.

So, Tuesday afternoon, just before we get ready to go for the day, he comes out and says he has made a decision on the holidays. The 25th and 26th are our paid holidays. The hourly postions will not work the 24th at all, nor will they work the 2nd. Half the salaried people will work the 24th and the other half will work the 2nd. Now the girl who does the payroll, asks since we only get 2 paid holidays at Christmas and 1 paid holiday at New Years, will she need to reduce the salaried employees pay by 1 day, depending on which week they get the extra day off. Per the boss, no. So the only ones who are going to end up with short pay checks two weeks in a row, is the women.

Forward to this morning and after having let 5 women think about this overnight, the boss has his hands full with 5 very ticked off women. 2 have already been in his office to talk to him. Even DH agrees that the women are getting the shaft on this one.

We only get 3 personal/sick days each year. We get zero days in funeral pay. But if any of the men have to take off any days or time beyond the 3 personal days, they don't have their salaries reduced. If one of the women has to take off time, we are short in our time or have to work to make up our time.

Yea I know that the bonus of being salaried is you get your pay weither you work or not, but the issue is the only people not in salaried postions is the WOMEN. It torks 2 of us off even more knowing that all of the mens salaries are and that the salary is based on a 50 hour work week and that not a one of them EVER puts in more than 40 hours a week. None of them have had to put in more that 40 hours in the 4 years that I have been here. There was a serious suggestion that if we get the shaft on this one, that after the 1st of the year, the women all need to get sick at the same time and let the men see how well the office can run without us.

Like I said, I am very gratefull to have a job and get a paycheck. I love the work I do here. I just know, that it wasn't like this when I worked here before and I hate the road that it looks like it is going down.

Ok, vent over.

 

[luckydog95]

It torks 2 of us off even more knowing that all of the mens salaries are and that the salary is based on a 50 hour work week and that not a one of them EVER puts in more than 40 hours a week. None of them have had to put in more that 40 hours in the 4 years that I have been here.
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Sorry but once any employee wants to bring up another person’s salary or work schedule, you are done talking to me. If you have an issue about YOUR time, fine. Keep it to that.

However, salary positions are different then hourly. They do get the benefit of the time and getting paid. Just like if they stay an hour late, they won’t get a dime. And you can not be in the loop on what everyone else does or you are not doing your own job. Ie you spend more time watching/worrying about someone else then yourself.

Doing a call out won’t help your position either. I would fire everyone if they pulled that junk at my job. Again, bring up your schedule concerns. But you won’t win many battles if you are trying to count every minutes of what someone else is doing for their job duties

 

[denisenh]

does your state have criteria for salaried employees? how about a whistle blowers act? how badly do you need this job?

maybe this is discrimination based on gender, which i do believe is illegal.

 

[mickeymedic]

I would simply inform the boss that I can't afford to take a day off work without pay. So, I will be working my regularly scheduled hours on the 24th. I didn't think an employer could force an employee to take a day off work without pay unless is was a disciplinary suspension or something. (And even with a suspension, if an investigation is pursued and reveals that the employee did nothing wrong, the employee is entitled to the lost wages.)

Since you and the other women and in agreement, you should all approach the boss together and tell him that you will be working on the 24th.

 

[ajk912]

Of course they are giving you guys off and having the salaried people work. The salaried people get paid no matter what, so have them work more. It costs them extra to have you work extra, so of course you hourly guys get off. That's how every place I have ever worked worked. You only have the man hours for hourly people if the budget allows..which it doesn't sound like you have the hours for hourly employees those days. Clear as mud?

If the salaried people really have it so great, I would be trying to be a salaried worker!!!

I am sorry you are frustrated.

 

[ajk912]

I would simply inform the boss that I can't afford to take a day off work without pay. So, I will be working my regularly scheduled hours on the 24th. I didn't think an employer could force an employee to take a day off work without pay unless is was a disciplinary suspension or something. (And even with a suspension, if an investigation is pursued and reveals that the employee did nothing wrong, the employee is entitled to the lost wages.)

Since you and the other women and in agreement, you should all approach the boss together and tell him that you will be working on the 24th.

Last I checked, there was no law that you had to schedule an hourly employee X amount of hours or days.

 

[jen0610]

I would simply inform the boss that I can't afford to take a day off work without pay. So, I will be working my regularly scheduled hours on the 24th. I didn't think an employer could force an employee to take a day off work without pay unless is was a disciplinary suspension or something. (And even with a suspension, if an investigation is pursued and reveals that the employee did nothing wrong, the employee is entitled to the lost wages.)

Since you and the other women and in agreement, you should all approach the boss together and tell him that you will be working on the 24th.

Last I checked, there was no law that you had to schedule an hourly employee X amount of hours or days.

While I am paid hourly, on my employment letter, it clearly states that I am scheduled to work 40 hours a week, M-F, with my hours being 7a.m. to 4p.m., with overtime being paid for any work needing to be done that goes beyond my scheduled regular 40 hours. So, he is in fact telling me I have to take a day off without pay, that I should be working according to my employment letter.

As far as having the salaried men work and having the hourly women off to save money, there isn't any savings. The only job the men can do, is answer the phones. Not a single one of them knows how to do the invoicing, payroll, dispursment payments, scanning, log verifications. If they tried, we would have to go thru everything they did and verify the work they did. Three years ago, when I took a full week of vacation, the guy who was to cover for me, screwed the billing up so bad, if took me 2 weeks to undo everything he did. Since then, when I'm not here to do the billing, it sits and waits until I get back. So what work we don't do on the 24th and 2nd, will just cause us extra work the week of the 5th that will not get approved for OT as all OT is cut until further notice.

 

[wall*e2008]

"It torks 2 of us off even more knowing that all of the mens salaries are and that the salary is based on a 50 hour work week and that not a one of them EVER puts in more than 40 hours a week."

A salaried person is one who is paid $X each week. If they put in 40 hours they get $X. If they put in 60 hours they get $X. Explain to me how they get paid for 50 hours?

 

[Allison]

This isn't because you are women, it's because you are hourly and they are salaried. That's the way it works.

I get so tired of hourly employees worrying about what salaried employees are doing with their time and how much they are working. It's not your business.

We are also having salaried employees work over the holidays and not the hourly employees because we are trying to cut costs and we aren't going to be paying overtime.

That's the way things have to be in this economy.

And no, an employee can't just say they are going to show at work that day and expect to be paid.

 

[mickeyboat]

I can understand your frustration and glad you chose here to vent instead of taking action with your boss.

You do need to worry about yourself and not address anyone else's salary, benefits, hours, etc. Bosses don't want to hear "it isn't fair."

Don't call out sick - you might just lose the job which will be so very hard to replace in this economy. There would probably be a line a mile long of people wanting your job when you are gone. As much as you would like to believe you are indispensable, you aren't.

Finally, I am guessing that reducing the hourly people's pay for two days over the holidays might be becuase of a cash flow issue. I am sure you would rather lose two day's pay than have your employer forced to lay someone off.

Happy Holidays!

Denae

 

[mickeymedic]

Last I checked, there was no law that you had to schedule an hourly employee X amount of hours or days.

While I am paid hourly, on my employment letter, it clearly states that I am scheduled to work 40 hours a week, M-F, with my hours being 7a.m. to 4p.m., with overtime being paid for any work needing to be done that goes beyond my scheduled regular 40 hours. So, he is in fact telling me I have to take a day off without pay, that I should be working according to my employment letter.

While I am not sure what exactly state/federal employment laws say about full-time hours, I am certain that employers must honor employment contracts. For some employees, this contract is a formal union contract. For others, this contract is the "offer letter." And for those who are not unionized and did not receive formal offer letters, the terms of "full-time" employment is outlined in the employee handbook. If you don't have an employee handbook, then I guess you're out of luck.

 

[mickeymedic]

"It torks 2 of us off even more knowing that all of the mens salaries are and that the salary is based on a 50 hour work week and that not a one of them EVER puts in more than 40 hours a week."

A salaried person is one who is paid $X each week. If they put in 40 hours they get $X. If they put in 60 hours they get $X. Explain to me how they get paid for 50 hours?

I don't know the specifics of the OP, but in my experience, any salaried position I have held or worked closely with was based on 50 hours per week. We made the same amount whether we worked 40 or 60 hours. But the expectation was that we would work 50 hours per week. That did not mean we had to spend 50 hours at the office, though. The 50 hours per week average included off-site/after-hours meetings, occasional weekends and work-from-home done on evenings and weekends.

 

[jen0610]

"It torks 2 of us off even more knowing that all of the mens salaries are and that the salary is based on a 50 hour work week and that not a one of them EVER puts in more than 40 hours a week."

A salaried person is one who is paid $X each week. If they put in 40 hours they get $X. If they put in 60 hours they get $X. Explain to me how they get paid for 50 hours?

The salary amout they are paid is based on them working a 50 hours a week. When we process payroll, when we print out their check settlements it states - Name, dispatcher, 50 hour week, $1000.00.

So, in order for this dispatcher to earn his full salary, he should be working 50 hours a week for a majory of the 52 weeks in a year. He may work 40 a couple of weeks during the year and a couple of 60 hour weeks. But when you take all of the hours he works and divide it by 52 weeks, his average should come out close to 50, in order for the company to be getting their moneies worth out of him. It doesn't.

 

[wall*e2008]

The salary amout they are paid is based on them working a 50 hours a week. When we process payroll, when we print out their check settlements it states - Name, dispatcher, 50 hour week, $1000.00.

So, in order for this dispatcher to earn his full salary, he should be working 50 hours a week for a majory of the 52 weeks in a year. He may work 40 a couple of weeks during the year and a couple of 60 hour weeks. But when you take all of the hours he works and divide it by 52 weeks, his average should come out close to 50, in order for the company to be getting their moneies worth out of him. It doesn't.

But they are salaried, so they are paid by the week not by the hour. It makes no sense to me to say they should be working 50 hours.

 

[Allison]

There is no average for salaried employees because you aren't supposed to track the hours of a salaried employee. They are not paid based on hours.

 

[S. C.]

 

[jen0610]

But their hours are kept track of and we can not release their salaried pay until we get the weekly release code from the boss.

Every body in the office has their time verified by computer log in and out. The women also have to punch a time card. So to the dispatcher that has his salary based on 50 hours, when he comes in and logs in, his computer sends a message to our computers in payroll. We have to take and enter this start time in payroll calculator. Same thing when he logs off at night. If someone forgets to log off at night, an auto message gets sent at midnight. When they try and log in the next morning, they have to go to a promt screen and enter they depart time from the day before prior to logging in for the current day.

When we generate payroll, it takes these times and addes them up. They have to match the hours entered into their empolyee info that is set up in payroll. If the hours don't match, it error kicks and we have to get a code from the boss to get payroll to release each employee pay. Just like in mine, the employee info shows 40 hours. If I work OT, it will kick mine and we will have to go to the boss and get a code to release my pay in payroll to match what I actually work.

 

[Pakey]

OP, they may be putting 50 hours into the payroll system if the system requires hours in order to cut checks but salaried employees are not paid based on hours.

We are doing the same thing here; salaried employees are working through the holidays and the hourly employees are not. The company is trying hard not to cut jobs at all so IMO, employees should be grateful that all they are dealing with is 2 days without pay (which they could have with pay if they have saved enough benefits) rather than an appointment with the unemployment office.

I'm sure the salaried people are complaining too because they have to work. One thing I've learned from being in upper management for so many years is that it is impossible to please people.

 

[Keggy]

Are the salaried positions and the hourly positions the same job with the same job responsibilities? If so, you may have a case. If not, you have no merit.

Now, if the boss came out and said to Woman #1. You have to take 1 day off unpaid and said to Woman #2, you can work. There would be a huge issue. But, he is making everyone do the same thing and is within the law in that.

I don't think that if your offer letter says that you are to work 40 hours a week, guarantees you 40 hours a week. But, I can look into that. I think that it means that you cannot work more than 40 hours a week without prior approval.

 

[jen0610]

double post