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MDI contract - Wondering

Posted: Mar 15, 2010

I was looking through papers this morning and happened upon the contract MDI had us sign last January as independent contractors, but to be treated as statutory employees for FICA. I didn't see anywhere where it stated an end date, and it did state that the contract was transferrable to any entity that might acquire MDI, if I read and understood it correctly. Does that mean that Transcend was then bound by that same contract? I am just wondering, since our line rate was specified in that contract, if they then acquired that contract, if they should have been legally obligated to maintain the agreed upon line rate instead of instituting pay cuts.

Wondering - Nick

[ In Reply To ..]
I am not an attorney, but I think this would be worth pursuing. I do think (as does my CPA) that MDI could be in hot water for classifying people as ICs and then treating them as SEs. It has to do with the U.S. Tax Code, etc. but the bottom line is basically that MDI seems to have wanted to have its cake and eat it too. It had people sign up for certain time slots, for example. Sorry, but you do not do that with ICs. I am betting that if a few of you ex-MDIers got together or chipped in or however you want to handle this, and took it to an attorney, the good folks at MDI/Transcend might come under some scrutiny. You might not even need to obtain legal counsel. If I were in your shoes, I would take the contrast to your local office of the Department of Labor and see what they had to say about the classification issue. As to the pay cuts, it would not take much time for an attorney to give you an opinion on that and IMHO, it would be worth it. Remember, these companies (and yes, that includes the late, great MDI, no matter what kind of an "I'm a true patriot" song and dance shuffle they used to sing) will hand out as much nonsense as the MTs are willing to take. MTSOs count on the fact that most MTs are passive in order to walk all over them. Don't accept it!

Wondering - CONTRACT - Nick

[ In Reply To ..]
Please take the CONTRACT, not the CONTRAST, and please get Nick some more coffee! He does not do well with the time change. Good luck to you!

I was also wondering about the contract with - Transcend. S/M

[ In Reply To ..]
as far as line rate. Isn't the contract for a year? With transition to VR, the line rate goes down.

I had thought it was for a year, but I couldn't find any such specification. Maybe I missed it - Wondering

[ In Reply To ..]
why I was wondering how long it applied and if Transcend should have upheld the line rate. Probably just wishful thinking.

Anyone else know the answer to this re - contract? N/M

[ In Reply To ..]
x

For the glass-half-empty folks - Glass Half Full

[ In Reply To ..]
Thinking I was an IC and finding on my first pay stub that I was an SE, with MDI withholding and matching Social Security was a GOOD thing.

Can you say GOOD thing?

I still had complete scheduling flexibility but had gained a 6.5 percent raise. Cool!!

As I remember (without digging out my own old contract) it ran from January 1 through December 31. MDI apparently did not bother to redraw a contract to cover the single month of January 2010 until we became Transcend employees, but honored the terms of the previous contract (which, legally, I don't think they were obligated to do.)

Glass Half Full - anon

[ In Reply To ..]
I am really that that you had complete flexibility. I had a liaison who wanted us to sign up for blocks of time each Saturday, effectively robbing me of time with my family.

shocking! - GHF

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How dare she! With all the hospitals closing every weekend, how on earth could your boss expect you to work on Saturday? Oh, wait a minute....the hospitals stay open weekends and the docs just keep dictating and dictating.

I think that some weekend work is not an unreasonable request of an MT. I figure if I get to work roughly the hours I prefer I'm not gonna kick about doing my share of the weekends, and for any really important event I can still schedule time off. I've even been known to voluntarily work every single weekend (Friday through Sunday) for months on end, never feeling deprived.

In a former career I used to rotate all 3 shifts, 8 weeks per shift with different days off (never both Saturday and Sunday) on each. I had to be out in all kinds of weather and deal with some really unpleasant people. The flexibility I have working at home seems like heaven in comparison.

But that's just me.

Weekend work - DMZ

[ In Reply To ..]
I have always worked weekends for the last 5 years, never bothered me. The flexibility of working at home means you don't have to sit there for 8 straight hours working - (shocking, this is not directed at you, it is in response to the post regarding interfering with family life)...if it interferes with your lifestyle, you need to find a better way to juggle your time or get a 9-5 M-F job. Just my 2 cents. I've been working at home for 15 years and nobody has ever suffered because I'm right here if they need me.

The point you are both missing - To DMZ & GHF

[ In Reply To ..]
Is that as IC/SE we do not have set schedules. I understand completely what the poster is saying. Often times, especially on weekends, it is difficult for me to pick a "block" of time that I'll be available because I don't always know my plans until that day.

The poster wasn't complaining about working weekends. She was complaining about the fact that she was told to set her hours for the weekend. That was wrong of her liason to make her do that.

My liason tried to pull that one on me, too, and I told her that I might be available certain hours but that I couldn't guarantee it because I didn't know what my plans were yet. After that, she didn't ask me again to set my hours. Perhaps she realized it was illegal to do so.

GHF - me

[ In Reply To ..]
You completely miss the point. I did not mind an occasional Saturday. But each and every Saturday of the year? Sorry, at that point, with fixed time slots, people are no longer ICs. Read the TAX CODE.

The test here - GHF

[ In Reply To ..]
is what happens if you refuse? What happens if you point out that this is not the way an IC agreement is supposed to go, and that you will work some - but not all - Saturdays? As with many situations in life, you have to be willing to take a stand, and risk the consequences.

It's great that we have this sounding board that allows us to get others' opinions. But this does not take the place of choosing the right profession, the best work situation, and standing up for ourselves according to the rules. What has happened to the lost art of bargaining? Sometimes I think that public whining has taken its place.

Nothing will ever stop an account manager from trying to make her own life easier by strongly implying we must work the schedule she needs covered. And then it's up to us to go along or refuse. Not directed at any of the above posters, but if our boss gets the opinion that we are going to be weenies and cave in to intimidation, then the demands will just keep coming. They'll do whatever works. And some of them will be jerks. We train our supervisors in how to deal with us as much as they train us. But the downside is that as an IC, even though we legally have no set schedule, if we become known as ''not a team player'' we can find our services are no longer needed.

I try to be known as a go-to person and develop a relationship with my account managers (of which I now have several.) When the call goes out for extra MTs to sign on and handle a glut of work I always try to do at least of couple of reports, even on my time off. Takes only half an hour. And I always reply to that e-mail to say that I'm doing so. For years I worked in obscurity and I really don't think that gets us noticed or appreciated. Maybe they can see who's on the system working, but it never hurts to point it out to them. So with this employer and these managers I've tried to be right in their face. And I feel that if they see you pitching in on a regular basis, then when you refuse to go along with some unreasonable request you are more likely to be taken seriously and less likely to be subjected to repeated abuse. IMHO.

GHF - me

[ In Reply To ..]
I finally had had enough,quit, and went to work for a nice mom and pop where I am making (gasp!) even more than I made with the huge company. And incidentally, I did not blame my liaison--she was under pressure from the top. She was a very nice woman, I liked her, and she respected me. However, I finally got to the point where I decided that life was just too short for all this back and forth.

I do sympathize - GHF

[ In Reply To ..]
with the middle-managers who catch heck from both directions. But the liaison has her own decision to make when asked to do something illegal or unethical. And maybe losing a few of those employees to decisions of conscience will make an impression, where we on the very bottom rung of the ladder do not.

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