legal stuff for MTs--employees and ICs - luvMT

I've read several of the posts regarding MTSOs requiring MTs to complete HITECH training on their own time, work over 40 hours without reporting it, or forcing ICs to adhere to a schedule, etc.  Although not an attorney, I'm very close to an employment attorney, and here is a summary of the laws.  Please check out the FLSA (Fair Labor Standards Act) under www.dol.gov and check out your own state specifically.   

EMPLOYEE STATUS: 

1.  It is illegal for an MT to work greater than 40 hours in a work week (8 hours a day in some states) without overtime pay (1-1/2 times regular rate).  If caught, the employer is  fined huge penalties, which are then paid to the employees who were underpaid. 

2.  Required training, whether HITECH, platform, or any other required training, IS compensated time and must be paid by the employer. 

3.  Any time REQUIRED to be on the system "waiting for work", working with IT to resolve technical issues, etc., IS compensated time and must be paid. 

4.  Professional liability insurance is the responsibility of the employer and not the employee.

5.  No less than minimum wage can be paid for all hours worked. 

6.  These requirements are mandated by the federal government; however, some states have a higher minimum wage or higher standards.  In those cases, the employee's state standard is the required one.  (For example, some states require an employer to pay for jury duty, but that is not a federal law). 

INDEPENDENT CONTRACTOR: 

1.  ICs CANNOT be required to attend any training, etc., as they are fully trained when the contract is signed.  They are only paid a piecemeal or job rate per the contract.  (Can you imagine hiring a contractor to build a deck on your house, then requiring him/her to attend your training session on building decks?! 

2.  ICs are required to provide all necessary tools to do the job, so they cannot have any equipment or tools furnished by the company contractor. 

3.  ICs are not restricted to hours per week, hours per day, etc.  They can work all they wish with no overtime requirement.

4.  Minimum wage does NOT apply. 

5.  ICs cannot be asked to adhere to a specific schedule, specific hours, required hours, anything of the kind. 

5.  ICs must provide their own professional liability insurance--they are operating as a business. 

6.  ICs have no paid time off, no unemployment protection, no FMLA protection, no workman's compensation if they are injuried, no hoilidays, and no insurance coverage of any kind.  ICs are responsible to cover all of these risks/protections themselves--they run their own business. 

The only reason, and I cannot stress that strongly enough, that these companies continue to get by with their illegal practices is because we allow them.  We work for them, we do not report them, and we are not educated about our rights and responsibilities.  If you're an IC and do not have professional liability insurance, you are putting YOURSELF and YOUR FAMILY at risk.  And if you're breaking the law, and your employer is caught, you are responsible too. 

Imagine how our industry would change if MTSOs just upheld the law!