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

TTS - IC's beware! - anon

Posted: Aug 01, 2013

I'm sure we are all aware, but if considering employment with them be VERY careful. I have gone round and round for days with them that legally they cannot require a schedule of an IC...but they don't care, one bit. Told me to look elsewhere then, after passing their testing, etc. I cannot believe a company this supposedly big does not even try to care when this issues is addressed to them, makes me want to report them. I know many companies that have been fined for this exact thing and had to pay all back taxes to those who should have recieved...as the company was making them work as an employee and not following laws...sigh..seriously companies figure this out, please!

My local labor department disagrees - sm

[ In Reply To ..]
I asked my local labor department about a schedule for ICs and they said that a company CAN legally ask that you work certain hours even in an IC situation. It is YOUR choice as an IC whether you accept the schedule or refuse and move on to find other IC work. They said for clarification, as an IC, the company cannot require you to work any hours other than what is specified in your contract and cannot add new job duties, etc., but asking you to work certain hours is not unheard of by any means.

right... - anon

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That is correct, they can ASK. They can allow you to only work in their system within certain time restraints. They, however, cannot fire or terminate a contract, etc. if you do not. They can tell you "you can work between 3-11" for example, but not require you to certain days or number of hours etc. For example, they cannot tell you you have to work Monday-Friday, 3-11, then terminate you when you do not one day. They can give you that hour window and it is your choice every day if you accept to work or not. They can require a certain number of lines be completed in a certain period, that is all. I hope that makes sense...Thus why I posted this post. TTS is requiring a set days and time schedule and from what I hear will fire or terminate you if your foot is off the pedal more than 4 minutes of that time...completely illegal as an IC status. :(

Anon is totally right! TTS REQUIRES you to - beentheremt

[ In Reply To ..]
work a set schedule whether IC or employee and if you don't you will be barraged with phone calls and emails harassing you about why you aren't working, especially the dictaphone side. If you don't comply, they will fire you-period! There is no difference with TTS whether you are an IC or employee,as IC and don't get any benefits-so what would be the point of being IC?

It is also true that your foot pedal and keyboard are timed by the system, and they will send you an email about how much time you owe them at the end of the payperiod according to what the system says you were "actiely working". So if your foot pedal and keyboard were only "active" for say 6-1/2 hours and you were scheduled for 8-you OWE them 1-1/2 hours and they will ask you when you want to make it up-period!

Also, you MUST take a 1/2 to hour lunch break-period! No exceptions.

The thing about TTS is that you MUST follow all of their RULES with no exceptions, including minimum line count, which you will also get a lengthy report of and/or phone call if you are not making it, OR ELSE! End of game, that's it!

TTS is EXTREMELY micromanaged and you are constantly under the microscope to make sure you are doing what they want you to do. THERE ARE NO EXCEPTIONS!

You will be audited by TTS, Nuance, and the facility in most cases, and 3 strikes (or failed audits) according to their specifications, and each one is different as far as QA so if you don't fail one, you will probably fail the other, and you are fired!

Hence, this is why they run an ad every day-it is a nightmare to work for them- all of 3 cents/line speech-WOW!.

You might be right about some but not all - you wrote here

[ In Reply To ..]
I do not take a lunch break, work straight thru so that one is wrong you posted. I have never gotten an IOU from the company because when I work, I work and try to keep my foot on the pedal always, make more money that way. I do have set schedule and don't like to vary it if at all possible but that is just me.

You HAVE to take a lunch... - beentheremt

[ In Reply To ..]
they just don't realize you aren't or they would make you. Send an email and ask them-I bet they say you have to!

I am glad you can sit for 8 hours straight and not even pee-but not all can-hence, if you are away from your desk, i.e., foot pedal or keyboard, for more than 4 minutes at a time you will have to make it up-Period!

You are being a little unrealistic now - about no bathroom breaks

[ In Reply To ..]
because no one that I know of, including myself, sits for 8 hours straight without going to the bathroom or getting a cup of coffee or standing and stretching for that reason. I have never, never gotten an email about my leaving for foot pedal for 4 minutes. I absolutely love doing my work as fast as I can and thus I tend to hold my foot on the pedal always unless I run across a word, item I do not understand, have to look up but I have never been called on the carpet for not working and I have been with the company for over 3 years now. No one has ever contacted me and MADE me take a 30 minute break for lunch either. If they kept such close watch over a person, do you not think they would have noticed by now?

Okay, so I get it, you like TTS, but - beentheremt

[ In Reply To ..]
many who have worked for TTS know what I say is true, in my experience anyway. The dictaphone team lead is a complete nightmare to work for. The owner has her hands in everything, including all emails (micromanaged to the max) and doesn't let her managers manage.

I am glad you are happy there and really don't wish to argue about it, but judging from the amount of ads they run, you are minority. Just sayin.....TTS just wasn't for me!

I have had jobs I liked a lot more, not arguing - at all but it has not been the

[ In Reply To ..]
worst at all. Two jobs in my life I have just walked away from, and I had 2 children to support. Years ago worked inhouse for a transcription company, called to jury duty right before Christmas, was told I would get 1/2 of regular pay, wound up no pay at all for Christmas and then the owner in full view 1 day was talking about a really good worker and I was standing, happened to look at her and she shouted across the room "..... I did not mean you" in front of everyone. Terrible job and I left. I know others have issues with TTS but what I try to do is NOT have much interaction with them at all, stay under the radar as much as possible, just keep my nose to the grindstone, not cause any more waves than necessary. It is not that I like/love them so much, just that I hopefully am never bothered so terribly much. I like the solitude, just leave me alone type person.

Exactly, staying under the radar is the only way to survive TTS, but hard to do! - nm

[ In Reply To ..]
nm

I dont think she is saying she likes them, I think - she is just saying

[ In Reply To ..]
that the bathroom break thing is a little far-fetched. She never said she liked or disliked them.

beentheremt - hoping mt

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I hope somebody rats them out to not only the Labor Department but also the IRS. Lincoln freed the slaves a looong time ago. This stinks.

actually - icmt

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Unless you've written a really good contract and submitted it to THEM (you did, right?) they can fire you whenever they feel like it for whatever reason they feel like. The contract is the key. So if you signed an agreement with them stating you'd work 3-11 or whatever and then donâ��t show up, that says to me you forfeited the position.

There are tons and tons of violations of the IC classification but that schedule isn't really one of them in and of itself. There are other things, like do they have to train you, do you use their equipment, do they pay you weekly/biweekly/monthly, do you submit an invoice, do you have other clients, etc.

Until MTs educate themselves and treat THEMSELVES like an IC (which means you're operating a business and as such you don't usually show up when the mood hits you btw), the abuse by MTSOs is just going to continue.

They are the worst company I have ever worked for other - than MQ. I quit because of that exact problem. s

[ In Reply To ..]
I looked into suing for lost wages including the hospital I worked on as an accessory to it. It was only in that that a lawyer was interested. HUGE teaching hospital in a state that would not look kindly on this vendor or the publicity she brings with her ripoff schemes. I just couldn't pull the trigger. I'm still thinking about it. I have 4 years of statute of limitations and I may yet do it. I want to see this company go down.

TTS - Sarah

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They have you sign a contract that states your hours. That's how they get by with it.

Contract or not - anon

[ In Reply To ..]
it is illegal. They would get in more trouble for even asking you to sign a contract that blatantly violates federal and state law. I would be happy to support anyone who does report them, please let me know and I will supply you my personal email.

I despise my job, the whole MT thing, how do you all cope? nm - Gonzales

[ In Reply To ..]
xxxxxx

On a daily basis. N/M - mtwith6yearstogo

[ In Reply To ..]
x

I do not despise my job, nor hate, if so I - would not be there

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I would never stay at a place if I felt that strongly about it, in fact have left 2 jobs previously because of just that. Have worked for a long, long time now and frankly could not see giving up a job this late in the game.

I just find the whole MT thing tedious, no pay increase, no incentive, depressing. nm - MT52

[ In Reply To ..]
xx

Then, you should find another kind of work - you would like more

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I have been at this profession for a long time and it provided me the opportunity in years past to be able to raise my children and have an excellent income. I know it's not what it used to be but I have done this for so many years now and care nothing about doing anything else, hardly want to do this anymore but only work parttime now so not relying on it like I did in the past. I loved this job at one time, now it is just ok but if I were younger and was depressed by my situation, I certainly would find something else. I think for most this is a totally dead end job and not one that you can have a decent living with anymore.

To should find another kind of work - Old Pro

[ In Reply To ..]
It is fine for you and for me to say we only rely on this part-time. We are fortunate. The key words in your post are IN YEARS PAST. We are fortunate not to need it now. But what about people in the 30-60 year age bracket? The vast majority cannot afford to retire. What of them? I am not making you wrong. I was very fortunate to retire when I did. I still fill in for a friend and when I do, I make very good money. But I don't depend on it like I used to. If there is work, fine, that's money in my travel or birding fund. But what if I were raising children and they depended on me for food? What if I still had a mortgage to pay every month? As I said, not everyone is as fortunate as we are. Every day I give G-d thanks that I am old because I would not want to be a full-time MT right now. Again, not making you wrong at all (you sound like a very sensible person), just saying that all are not as lucky as we are. (BTW, I blame the schools for luring people in with their line about you can make 60K a year in your jammies while nursing your baby. You betcha.) Have a nice weekend! :)

I am really tired of hearing how MTs cannot - make a living, etc.

[ In Reply To ..]
and waiting around until you are poverty stricken?? What in the world? I don't care if I never edited, typed another word there is no way I ever sat back and just wait for work to come thru and not have anything? I don't care what age a person is. When I was younger than now (and even doing MT work and making good money) I also had other type jobs going then including working at JCP part-time. Maybe I am just not like the next person but if 1 job is not enough to make it, work 2. When the money was good, I just did not depend on 1 job, had 2 full time jobs going and made more than the average Joe. Do not tell me you don't read here almost every day about someone saying "they can't work outside the house," naming among other things they have a child, etc., etc. Well, I had 2 children and worked outside the home for years and years, only coming home in early 2000s because of the hospital wanting to send us home, not because we "had" to work at home. People do not want to give up the "niceness" of being away from their nests and I think that accounts for the biggest percentage of folks here sitting around "waiting" on something to happen which it doesn't. Back some years ago we did not have the choice of working at home. If we wanted a job we had to be outside the home. I see most here falling into the category of "woe is me" and I say get some wind in your sails, pull yourself up and do something productive instead of all the whining. So glad I had a good work ethic.

DITTO... - $$$$$$

[ In Reply To ..]
NM

You do realize that some of these companies - Realist

[ In Reply To ..]
require 8 hours, but then expect the MT to "flex" those hours? I know because I often, often end up pulling graveyard. Oh, and trying to find something outside of the house is proving to be extremely difficult, especially with MT as the job at the top of the resume for an extensive period of time. Nobody cares about MT--hiring managers are looking for multi-tasking, proficiency in endless office/computer skills, and most pay rather low, too. Even with strong skills, it's tough to break out of this.

Am heading back to college to train in something else because the pickin's are really slim, and I'm in my mid 50s! I love racking up student loan debt and competing with 20 year olds! Tried to find something better and more stable in MT land, but the jobs all seem to lead to Nuance and MModal for the most part or dwindle to nothing after getting hired. The companies that are better to work for are swamped with MT resumes, so even finding a job is incredibly difficult.

This field is dying, so naturally there will be some angst right now. It's been our livelihood!

You may have had a "work ethic," but you're coming up short in the empathy and understanding department!

the complaints - LisaCT

[ In Reply To ..]
I agree with you. When it first started back in early 2000s, I felt sympathy and empathy, but we all know by now its not coming back, its going down. Now 8 cents is cut to 7 cents. So its either take it or get out. I know its hard, I am older too, but our work ethic is what makes us better than the younger generation we are competing with. Most of them do not have it and are tattooed and pierced all over and think they should have Iphones and flat screen TVs because everyone else does. There are so many dental receptionist jobs on Craigslist for example.

I totally agree, 3 years out from retirement. MTs just come here to vent S/M - miller

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sometimes. Everybody's situation is different.

And I am past retirement and still working - And your point is?

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And will say once more, so glad for my work ethics.

Geez, my point is give the OP a break! nm - miller

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xx

And, should you read this post I was responding - to the person who despises

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their job. Next......

What exactly is the point of these boards? - anon2

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If someone goes in and deletes half of the posts. Seriously, half that were here are gone. Seems pointless if behinds the scenes someone is deleting what they want and leaving the rest. ??

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