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Is It Legal For A Company To... - Gathering Info

Posted: Jun 29, 2010

...require MTs to work 40 hours a week as a full-time employee for less than minimum wage? I am considering filing a class action lawsuit, but I'm getting my facts straight first.

No, that's why it's called MINIMUM wage. - n/m

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The Reason I'm Asking... - Gathering Info

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...is because I looked it up and saw something about "piece work". I just wanted to make sure MTs getting paid per line do not fall under piece work.

Piece work - Get out of MT

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I hate to tell you, but MTs probably do fall under the "piece-work" category. Why do you think there was such as boon to pay MTs by the line? It may have been all fine and nice years ago for whoever started it; however, that same group either didn't look ahead and see how this could be manipulated or just didn't care as that was the plan all along.

MT is a horrible "profession," and to be paid piecemeal will probably throw you out of a lot of possible labor categories that are put in place to protect workers. Why do you think that most places want MTs to be "independent contractors?"

According to the Dept of Labor, it is covered by - Minimum Wage Law

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If you read the second paragraph in the requirements section of the link I provided, it reads as though we are indeed covered.

Thank You So Much. One Company Is... - Class Action Lawsuit

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...most definitely about to be slapped with a...

According to the Dept. of Labor - Class Action Sounds Good

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"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."

Since the employer requires you to be available to type between, say, the hours of 7-3:30, if you have to type beyond that time to make the also required minimum line counts, it does seem as though that would be overtime. I know one of the large MTSOs got a wrist slap for not paying OT a few years ago, though, so I'm sure they've figured out a way around it or have just been very lucky in that nobody has filed a complaint.

Thank You - Gathering Info

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That's what I needed to know. I have given the company an opportunity to make things right. I have informed them of my intent to file a complaint with the Dept. of Labor. I am weighing options, but I will take action within the next two weeks tops.

Where I work, we are told to get off the system - sm

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for a specified amount of time and then get back in. However, we are also not required to work 40 hours, only to have a minimum line count per pay period. If the minimum is not met, and our production payment falls below minimum wage, then we are paid minimum wage.

If you are an employee, someone's keeping track of the hours. - s/m

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As an employer, they are required to keep track of your hours, specifically to ensure that no overtime abuse is taking place. While they may not give you a hard time about how many hours you are putting in and only keep an eye on the production, if you are an employee as opposed to a contractor, there is a time card somewhere with your name on it!!

Timecard - Gathering Info

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Yes, I was required to work 40 hours, and I received no breaks or lunch breaks. Their turnaround time was so narrow that if I were to take a small break they would put someone else on my account to help clear it out quickly; therefore, I am sitting there waiting for work, but no lines are coming. Then, the employer portion of my very expensive insurance benefits are withheld from my paycheck because I didn't make my line count. Also, I am required to provide my own equipment with no compensation. I was a full-time employee - not statutory and not an independent contractor.

Next Monday, if I have not been properly compensated I will take action. They are currently being sued by someone else for being required to work more than 40 hours per week with no overtime compensation.

I truly wish you luck. - s/m

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You also might want to take note the portion that mentions that work expenses that we are forced to bear (such as internet, electricity, etc., obviously on a prorated basis) are deducted from the hourly wage, so, unless I'm reading it wrong, you should be getting paid minimum wage + hourly utility expense.

Just curious - MissyMT

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Why do you work there?

I don't get why people stay some place where they are abused like that. Makes absolutely no sense to me.

Where I work, no matter how many hours we REALLY put in, - our timesheets can only show 40 hrs/wk. n/m

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Isn't that illegal on both the employer and employee? - nm

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Yes, but you have few alternatives. - sm

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It's made very clear that it's that or you are unemployed again. I would hazard a guess than around 70-75% of the people 'fudge' their timecards based on prior experience, admittedly about 10 years ago.

If you question the legality of it, you're out. If you don't produce your lines in the 40 hours you're scheduled to be there, you're out. So we sit at our desks for an extra couple hours every night hoping for a few jobs to come in and spend weekends doing the same thing.

This is an industry that is ripe for the IRS and DOL to run through with a huge scythe for the all the violations.

Where I work we post at hte end of the day on a - sm

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"timecard" how many hours we worked. We cannot work over 40 without prior approval, but again as I said, we are not required to work 40 hours. Yes, they keep track of the time we turn in, and believe me I am not going to work over 40 hours without being paid for it.

What do you do if your daily min. lines cant be met - in 8 hrs? Thats been my problem! n/m

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We have a daily line count, but if we don't meet - sm

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it because of no work, we just make a note of it on our time card and we are not penalized because of low work.

I wouldnt give away my intentions to the company - - it gives them time to alter their records, etc. n/

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This is why MQ pays minimum wage if you don't get enough lines right? - .nm

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Dept of Labor - Sassy Pants

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I used to work for an MT company based in Florida as an IC. I live in WI. I was told by the DOL in FL when I filed a claim for underpayment that yes, I was entitled to be paid at least minimum wage if my piecemeal or piece rate did not meet the minimum wage per hour amount of $6.55/hour (in 2008). BUT then I was told that "sitting in front of a computer for 40 hours while not working does not count because how do we know that you were really at your computer and not off doing something else?" GRR okay, so then I explained that I was required to be signed in during certain hours (40) but only have work half the time (20 hours) and even if you took my gross LPH x my crappy CPL to equal my gross pay divided by even 20 hours, it was still under the minimum wage pay! I am now with a new company. Same thing! I am working OT, 6 days a week, 39 hours a week (not one second over 40 ya know) and I figure it's the same pay. For example,

If I bust my ass doing 60 reports a day (all DS, ER and SOAPs mind you), I maybe get 9000 lines per pay period (not even close to the required 12,000).

9000 lines x 1/2 editing rate of 0.045 and 1/2 transcribing rate of 0.09 x 80 hours - $70 biweekly insurance x 25% out for taxes = a whooping $5.03 an hour. Gross is $7.58 an hour.

No wonder I'm getting outta this profession. I applied at a retail store today. They make $9/hr to start plus commission.

I Feel Ya - That Sucks

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At the $4.00 an hour I was making as an MT - with over 25 years experience - I decided I could work fast food and make significantly more.

I went back to school, and at 52 years old I will graduate with my Associates in 74 days. I am continuing on to obtain my Bachelors, and will have my Masters in 3 years.

I may be old when I finish school, but I will have fulfilled a lifelong dream - and I won't be busting my hump for slave drivers in sweat shops anymore.

Way to go! - Sassy Pants

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Good for you! I felt "old" graduating from college at age 31, my second time around after dropping out at 21. I think it's great at any age to go back to school. I seem to be a better FT student than anything else. Too bad I can't get paid for that. :-) Good luck in any endeavors you pursue. I wanted to go back to school again after this whole MT mess, but what I am interested in is not out there anymore so I will waste more time and money on yet another crap profession. I am down to sales, selling drugs, or stripping at this point. Um, yeah! Seriously though, good luck to you. I think that's just awesome :-)

It would serve them right if all US MTs quit, and all - US QAs quit, as well! - (s/m)

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Can't you just see the mess? Not only would all the transcription have to be done offshore, but all the QA/editing, as well! Medical records would become a living nightmare. If that were to happen (yeah, I know it won't but one can always dream!), don't you just bet that hospitals wouldn't be able to bring their work back in-house fast enough? Couldn't be fast enough for ME, that's for sure!

You will NOT be old in todays workplace - You GO GIRL! (or guy :)

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None of us will have any retirement savings, social security, if it is still there will not be enough to live on, so how could we ever stop working? You'll probably be working until at least 70 so that will give you 15 years in your chosen field!!

I admire your moxy and you are very young at heart to go back to college. I wish you the very best! Don't buy into the statement that you will be old - far from it my friend!

Go for it!! You are an inspiration to all of us.

Class action lawsuit - MissyMT

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Can one person even file a class action suit?

Every reputable company I know of, guarantees minimum wage.

Have you ever taken them up on it? - Just curious

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Perhaps you work for a company that does have plenty of work during your schedule, but there are lot where things don't go quite that smoothly.

Granted, this is just my experience, but several different companies expect you to sit in front of your computer during your scheduled hours, whatever they happen to be; woe be to the soul who is not at her desk should a STAT roll in or more than three jobs 'clog' up the system. However, in that eight hours you maybe only get a couple reports an hour, and finish your shift with, for example, 600 of your required 1200 lines (which if you make 8 cpl, works out to be about $6/hour), not because you were not ready, willing, and able to work, but because there was none. You are then told that you need to make up those lines over the weekend.

Theoretically, they should be paying you overtime for any of that line makeup time. DOL rules clearly state that if you are expected to be at your desk and available to work, it counts as work hours.

So theoretically they should be paying the difference between what you've earned for your 40 normal work week hours and what 40 hours of minimum wage would be, and OT on top of that for the time spent making up the line counts.

Ours doesnt. - Achoo! (sis)

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ROFLMAO. - n/m

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If you are a full-time employee you have to make - k

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at least minimum wage. If you are an IC, it does not apply.

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