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NJA and time clock - perplexed

Posted: Mar 01, 2013

My company has started having us use a time clock now. What happens when we have NJA? Stay on the clock and wait? Keep clocking in and out looking for jobs?

Need advice for those who use a time clock with their company.

The company usually uses their own method. - Have you asked whoever (sm)

[ In Reply To ..]
implemented it?

At MModal there were three options when you were NJA. You could wait 15 minutes and if no work, clock out, put in for 15 minutes of work availability and either say when you were going to make the time up, take PTO for the rest of your shift, or take the rest of your shift off without pay.

It started turning into a 24/7 type thing just to get lines in, so after taking time off without pay and not seeing it getting any better, I moved on.

I'm not sure what your situation is as far as how often you run out but if it's minimal, then I would think you would want to make the time up. Of course staying clocked in with no production was not the ideal thing to do at MModal as it affected your production status in some fashion. I would have to be a math major to explain it. LOL

Well....... - sm

[ In Reply To ..]
If you are an EMPLOYEE and required to work a shift, then technically you are supposed to clock in at your shift start and clock out at your shift end, regardless if there is work. All of this mess where these MTSOs are telling us to clock in for work, clock out when work ends, wait for more work then clock in again is just BS and is actually ILLEGAL.

This scenario would be no different than if you got a job at Wal-Mart and they told you to clock out and sit on a bench and wait until you see customers in the line, then clock in and check them out and then clock out again. This is actually ILLEGAL behavior on their part.

Technically, if there is no work, you should remain clocked in and they have to pay you at least minimum wage. If they have you clock out, then your day should be OVER and you can also get unemployment to compensate the lost time. These are the benefits of being an employee. The MTSO could always just hire IC positions, but then they can't "control" when we work that way, or at least they aren't supposed to be able to be able to.

I am NOT the one to tell people to refuse jobs because of salary and such, but this behavior shouldn't be tolerated at all. I have had ONE job that tried this and when my supervisor told me to clock out due to lack of work I told her that I would clock out, but I would be staying clocked out that I wouldn't wait for work. She tried to give me the line about how I had to get my lines in and I explained to her that this wasn't going to fly, that if I am off the clock, I am off of it, I will not babysit a computer for no pay. They couldn't fire me for that and they didn't. I ended up getting unemployment for my downtime and I did actually find another job and leave eventually, but they never argued what I did at that company, because they knew legally they had no argument.

Clocking in and out - Good example

[ In Reply To ..]
Imagine the media frenzy if Wal-Mart was requiring employees to clock in and out, depending on customer volume. It would be insane. The problem with us, is that even though MTs have been around a long time, most people have no idea what we do, have no idea how we get paid or anything. I have found that even the department of labor didn't know what I did for employment, when I went there, and they were confused by the fact that my employer was in a different state than I was in. I think I had to explain multiple times how NO, I didn't travel 1000 miles to work, I worked at home.

I agree though, we don't have to put up with them breaking the law, period. Many things we have to deal with, but they are not above the law.

even better... - sm

[ In Reply To ..]
pretend Walmart required employees to assist at least 8 customers a day over an 8-hour period. But there were no customers. So you either make LESS than allowable under the law, or you work 16 hours to get your 8-hour pay - which is ALSO less than allowable by law since it took you 16 hours to make 8-hour pay.

THIS is the problem with the MTSOs. THIS is the big secret no one knows about. And it is ILLEGAL.

EXACTLY! - Crooks

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There was something on the news not long ago about how Wal-Mart employees are underpaid and are forced to be on food stamps. The story was saying how Wal-Mart makes so much money, it is unheard of to pay employees a low wage. But do you know what? I KNOW that every single one of those employees were AT LEAST getting minimum wage. I wonder what the news would think if they knew MTs were working for LESS than minimum wage, while being responsible to produce accurate medical records? Most people are completely in the dark about how the MTSOs are ripping people off and that is just causing them to get richer and us to get poorer. I wonder how many MTs are on food stamps? We need a story on us!

So, if it is illegal, why do we all do it? - Cant we all fight this one?

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Would we have to file a complaint with the labor board? Why do we allow this to happen?

You just REFUSE to do it, plain and simple. - sm

[ In Reply To ..]
If they fire you, then YES, you will have a case with the department of labor. They won't fire you though, they will let you get away with it, until it comes to many people doing it and then they will have to be the one to change their policies.

well, how do you get them to pay min wage - while you sit there and wait?

[ In Reply To ..]
How can you enforce that?

Minimum wage - MT3

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Look at your pay stub. An employee has to be paid an hourly wage, so the way most companies do it is this: Say you typed 10,000 lines for the pay period and you clocked in for 80 hours and they pay you 8 cpl. Your gross pay would be 800.00 for two weeks, making your pay $10.00 per hour and that is what they would have in their books as paying you.

So, if you are without work and just say you are able to get 5000 lines for the pay period. That would give you a gross of $400 and if you were actually clocked in for the 80 hours, that would give you a pay rate of $5.00 per hour. They are not allowed to pay less than minimum wage, so they actually bump up your pay to $7.25 and your check would be gross $580 instead.

Companies do not want to have to do that, so therefore they have you clock in and out and even though you are actually working (waiting for work is still on their time) they don't have a record of this, so they can say "Oh yea, she makes more than minimum wage" when in all actuality you do not.

Just stay clocked in for the entirety of your shift and say nothing to them. When they ask you why you were clocked in with no work (hopefully in email so it is in writing) reply back and let them know that you were REQUIRED to work this shift and you are waiting for work, therefore working for their company. If they tell you to stop doing that, just don't. Continue staying clocked in UNLESS you have permission or are asked to take the day off. If they fire you, go to your local department of labor. I PROMISE you that you will win, then you can sit at home, collect unemployment and make more without the headaches.

The only thing about that is it messes up your benefit rate - momaa

[ In Reply To ..]
Good concept but the benefit rate goes down doing that. I get paid four hours of my benefit rate for nja so don't think I want to do it

it is illegal to base benefits on production unless there is - continual work

[ In Reply To ..]

Continual work - sm

[ In Reply To ..]
I wasn't aware of this. I work for a company that bases our benefits on our production but is unable to provide enough work, so we get reduced benefits and/or lose our job.

it's called bait and switch - labor advocate

[ In Reply To ..]
It sounds like a good deal until you discover there isn't enough work in a day to satisfy the line quota. At the very least, it's false advertising.

If you have to work 16 hours per day to qualify for full-time benefits, that's a problem. And it's illegal.

Can you provide a cite for that? - nm

[ In Reply To ..]
x

I will try. Stay tuned. - labor advocate

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This company doesn't care about illegal obviously. Unless an employee reports them who is to kn - sma

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Until that is changed, I will keep signing in and out. I count on my benefit rate more than anything nowdays since there is always NJA

I'm not even sure what you mean there, I'm lost. - NM

[ In Reply To ..]
x

Affects your line count...... - sm

[ In Reply To ..]
number of lines versus time clocked in drops your line count if you stay clocked in w/o work. then they get you for "production." - crooks - that's all - just crooks!!

a class action suit is currently being brought - sm

[ In Reply To ..]
I would encourage as many MTs as possible to join forces and bring their own class action lawsuits against the MTSOs that perpetrate wage theft. And it IS wage theft.

More details please - anon22

[ In Reply To ..]
Is this the Transcend lawsuit or a new different one?

yes, that's the one I'm referring to - (link)

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remember the last class action suit? Wow..we got nothing but membership to benchmark - nomaa

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I got a judgment on the last class action lawsuit and got a membership to benchmark.What a joke. Where is my money that the company ripped off from me?

Presumably the next suit won't go through - those crooks at AAMT

[ In Reply To ..]
...or whatever impossible-to-remember set of initials they're using these days.

hold the phone - painting with one brush

[ In Reply To ..]
This company hasnt done anything illegal. They simply said clock in, clock out. Perhaps this will give them a better picture of who is getting work, who writes to K and asks for work, who simply doesn't care if there's work.

I think painting them with the broad brush of some of the more shady companies is wrong at best.

I sort of thought that to due to them working with capacity planning on schedules - pev

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I think everyone assumes the worst though with this company

any company... - labor advocate

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that bases compensation and/or benefits on a certain level of production within an 8-hour period HAS TO have enough work available during that period for the employee to meet that goal. Otherwise, it is ILLEGAL.

If you do not have enough production work available in an 8-hour period for the employee to make minimum wage, YOU MUST, BY LAW, pay the employee minimum wage.

advising employees to clock in, clock out - is ILLEGAL!

[ In Reply To ..]
you can paint that with any brush you want, but it's still illegal.

totally agree with this - sm

[ In Reply To ..]
glad you stood up for yourself. That lovely "flex" time is such a benefit working from home, NOT. Since you have no notice and can't plan for your "flex" time, can't plan anything else in life, just sit around and "flex." Especially wonderful on holidays when that so greatly touted "flex" time is rolled out, so wonderful to be able to go take a sip of coffee or bite of meal with your family while flexing, that is if your family happens to be celebrating there in your town or home, NOT. If I have to stay here clocking in for work on a schedule, I want work and be done.

Don't know how this will ultimately end up for MTs, but I predict that will eventually be a minimum hourly wage job since all of these little work-arounds that they come up with to try to skirt OT laws eventually are not going to cut it, there are going to be more law suits. Of course, the Federal Gov. has nothing whatsoever in place for employees other than OT laws, employers don't have to do squat for employees, varies somewhat by state laws.

I can't wait to get out, never thought I would wish to be old but am almost there to collect SS. I see MT going down the drain totally except as maybe some minimum wage job doing whatever. Having been so fortunately inducted into healthcare on the patient side, in addition to being an MT, the mistakes/contradictions made are sometimes outrageous. The bean counters at the facilities want more money to add on an unnecessary "beautiful" lobby, the MTSOs want more money for whatever, fine let them have it. Let the stressed-out docs or apathetic ancillary personnel collecting their paychecks enter the patient info, regardless of the mistakes, all the while with their nose in the laptop and neglecting the patient sitting there and even then don't always get it right, and let the law suits begin. After all, we are not necessary, disposable and menial now as far as I have been able to determine. Sad but true. At least we as MTs will have the knowledge to request our own medical records and correct the mistakes, feel sorry for the rest of the people out there.

agree! It IS illegal - nm

[ In Reply To ..]

work for the same company - and

[ In Reply To ..]
I'm not clocking out for NJA. I'm still "working." Just because there's nothing to work ON is irrelevant IMO. They aren't using the clock to pay us per se, just to show we are, indeed, full time with regard to benefit access.

Whether one is an IC is also a LEGAL factor. - anon

[ In Reply To ..]
(meant this as a reply to the whole thread).

If an independent contractor is required to clock in and clock out, adhere to a schedule etc., perform their work the SAME AS IS REQUIRED BY AN EMPLOYEE, that is illegal. Please, everyone who is an IC, look up the DOL laws, ask questions, talk to someone.

I wish more (MTs and MTSOs alike) would do their due diligence. For example, research the "IRS 20 Factor Test" regarding the difference between an employee and IC. It's crazy that there are so many who think that whatever an MTSO calls it, makes it legitimate/true. There is a reason why there is a different classification.

Example:
"Under IRS rules and common-law doctrine, independent contractors control the manner and means by which contracted
services, products, or results are achieved. The more control a company exercises over how, when, where, and by whom work is performed, the more likely the workers are employees, not independent contractors."

â�¢Flexibility of schedule. People whose hours or days of work are dictated by a company are apt to qualify as its employees.
â�¢ Demands for full-time work. Full-time work gives a company control over most of a person's time, which supports a finding of an employment relationship.

http://comptroller.illinoisstate.edu/downloads/20-factor-test-for-independent-contractors.pdf

Another:

"Employee: 7 Hours of Work Required to perform work within set
hours of work specified by employer vs IC: Free to establish own hours of work."

http://www.oregon.gov/ODA/SWCD/docs/pdf/irs20factors_contractors.pdf

Except the IRS doesnt use the 20 rules anymore - me

[ In Reply To ..]
They've whittled it down to 3 very subjective categories.

You are right, however, many companies misclassify ICs and it would behoove any MT to make sure she/he is correctly classified.

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