A community of 30,000 US Transcriptionist serving Medical Transcription Industry

"unpaid time off" for production-paid employees - jenpi

Posted: Jun 26, 2011

Looking to find out from others if this "UTO" is a normal industry-wide policy for production-paid transcriptionists who are not paid for time when lines are not turned in; example, storms, power outages, company's platform down, etc. Losing pay and bonuses for not working the same hour twice and getting paid for once. Losing time for sleep, family and medical regimen, too. What is the norm out there? This just started recently. Don't mind not being paid for losing the time; that's life in the biz. Don't like being forced to give up the rest of my life and work that hour again when they tell me to work it. Losing sleep, friends, sanity. Thanks!

not industry-wide policy. - mt

[ In Reply To ..]
In fact, I have more than 20 years doing this on production and never had to 'manditorily' make up time losses as either employee, IC or statutory employee. I was told in the past, however, IF I WANTED TO, I could make up the pay if/when work was abundant enough to go around, before the pay period end.

All companies have different policies for this.

So some company has found yet another way to rape its transcriptionists? smdh! nm - anon3

[ In Reply To ..]
.

Inappropriate - Mom

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Your use of the word rape is totally inappropriate, not to mention insensitive to those who really have been the victims of such an ugly violent crime, and who have never been able to erase it. To use it so cavalierly is disgusting.

I disagree. There are many kinds of rape besides the - physical kind. This is financial & psychological.

[ In Reply To ..]
Open-pit mining and deforestation is rape of the land. Companies that skim even more money off of the pittance that MTs already work so hard to earn, is financial. The way we are treated as just cogs in the wheel, and always first to blame for just about everything, or being told how "lucky" we are to have these miserable jobs, is a form of psychological rape.

So nope, I disagree with you. The actual act itself may be different than the physical/sexual kind of rape, but the damage done to the individual can be just as devastating.

Ridiculous!! How can you say the effects are the same. That's plain stupid. Ask anyone who' - Mom

[ In Reply To ..]
Hope you never have to see the difference.

wow - TiredMT

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You sound like me!!! I am so tired of being told how lucky we are that we have a job and can work at home.. while we are used 24 hours day for slave labor!! They know they have many of us by the hair roots!!

Defintion of rape - jw

[ In Reply To ..]
Definition of rape also includes the violent destructive treatment: the violent, destructive, or abusive treatment of something. Come on ladies do we have to take everything as a personal afront??

well said. "like button" - anon

[ In Reply To ..]

**

Exploited may be the word to more accurately describe what MTs are feeling. - sweetgirlsmom

[ In Reply To ..]
As for the OP: I've been an MT for 33 years with 30 of that on production. My employers have never paid for work that was not done, regardless of the reason (no dictation, weather, equipment, etc). I have usually been asked to work extra hours later to help catch up the work that got behind when we couldn't type. Getting paid for that covers the time I was off so I break even on my paycheck.

I don't complain about the extra money when we have overtime (in my first job for 20 years it was 50% of the time) so I don't complain about the 5% of the time we have no work or cannot type because of equipment or weather.

The employers have always given credit for the hours not worked toward my PT or FT status. I have never lost my insurance benefits, or my holiday and vacation time.

Hospitals operate 24/7 so losing time from family/friends is standard in the medical industry. Many people have jobs working nights, weekends, and holidays, and they also lose time with family and friends. MTs are not alone. The only way around it is to work some place else.

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