Dear David: Underpaid for Overtime

[Omaha Steve]

http://blog.workingamerica.org/2013/07/18/dear-david-underpaid-for-overtime/

Question:

Hi, David. I work for a home health care franchise that enables seniors to continue living at home. I’ve been told that since my employers have a “temporary part-time” tax status, they do not have to pay overtime. I work 12 hours daily at least five days a week. Sometimes we have to pick up shifts when other staff “no-show, no-call.” We work in two-week pay periods 120-140 hours and do not get any overtime. We only make $9 per hour. I eagerly await your instructions concerning this matter. Thanks in advance.

— Underpaid for Overtime, Ohio

Answer at link.

[Demit]

1. That was a surprisingly unhelpful answer

First 'David' says he's not really sure what the employer could mean by “temporary part-time tax status” and how it would affect overtime (wouldn't he have some sort of labor background to be answering these questions, so he'd either be familiar with the phrase, or could look into it more easily than the questioner could?) Then he tells her "you’ll probably want to look a little deeper into whether you are covered rather than just taking the employer’s word for it," which is probably what she thought she was doing by asking Working America.

The he tells her that there's another thing she could do! And that is to get together with coworkers and strategize ways to get the employer to meet their interests. Oh, okay, right. The whole answer is so patronizing.

[Omaha Steve]

2. I agree and sent it to Working America

Good reply.

[shirah]

4. Not just unhelpful - totally wrong

The law that governs overtime is the Fair Labor Standards Act. The IRS and tax status has absolutely nothing to do with overtime or wage payments. You can find helpful information about your rights under the FLSA here - http://www.dol.gov/whd/flsa/

State laws can also govern when and how wages must be paid - but not necessarily the amount to be paid. (Although some state minimum wage laws top up the federal minimum wage. The FLSA sets the floor for minimum wage.They cannot decrease the minimum wage.)

The response to the workers getting together about this issue of wage payments is not necessarily a bad one. If the employees do, they might be able to pressure the employer into getting right with the law. Also, that sort of collective action is protected by the National Labor Relations Act. More information here. http://www.nlrb.gov/rights-we-protect/employee-rights

[Demit]

5. To your last point, of course it's not bad. Just pie-in-the-sky for this worker right now.

Too breezy, too dismissive, altogether. She's working overtime and extra shifts to begin with. Home health care workers all don't work together in the one workplace, you know. They work individually in people's homes. 'David', after a couple of paragraphs of telling her what she already knew, proceeded to give her generic advice that she could have gotten from eHow.com. From a labor expert, it was the equivalent of a brush off.

[Callmecrazy]

3. Does he get paid for this advice?

If he does, I'm starting my own blog. I'd love to sit at home and give condescending non-answers to people needing information. I wouldn't need to get out of the bed.

[Bolo Boffin]

6. I can't see any reason for this job to be exempt from overtime pay.

http://www.dol.gov/whd/regs/compliance/fairpay/fs17a_overview.pdf

Even with a job description exemption, you have to be paid on a salary basis, not hourly like these employees. Sounds like someone needs to call a lawyer.