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Give some thought to not answering your phone. It doesn't seem fair, but life isn't fair.
Put it into perspective. There are probably thousands of unemployed folks that would happily put up w/ the occasional inconvenience.
Good idea...just don't answer the phone. I mean if it is 7am on a Friday...the day you don't normally work I wouldn't have even noticed it ringed until 11am or so.
Really? Where does that come from? Most of the people I work with and know are exempt salaried employees. We do not qualify for overtime pay.
I think what Somarat meant is that many (most?) people who are classified as "exempt" really should not be. From what I heard, the original intent of the "exempt" classification was so that high level executives would not be paid time and half to do things like playing golf. It was not intended to apply to rank and file professionals.
That's right. Employers create contracts that are in violation of the federal ot laws. A contract that is in such a violation is illegal. People don't realize this or don't want to rock the boat and lose their job. We understand this. Employers are looking for suckers every day. Just because there are plenty of suckers working for free on ot doesn't make it legal.
If an employee agrees to a contract that gives them fewer rights than the law allows, it is probably legal. For example, if someone who would otherwise be elligible for time and half signs a contract waiving that right, and agreeing to work whatever hours are needed for a fixed salary, it is probably legal. Of course, if you don't sign such a contract, you won't get the job. And you probably need a job in order to make enough money to live.
I think the real fallacy is that it is wrongly assumed that anyone who is "exempt" is working overtime by choice, and that they could either delegate the work to someone else, find a different way of getting it done, choose not to do it at all, or find another job. In practice, it doesnn't work that way.
An acquaintance of mine, Mike, recently got in trouble at work for not showing up when he was asked to. He always had Fridays off and on one such Friday off he had made plans to get his car fixed and had dropped it off at the mechanic the previous night. As a result he was stuck at home without transportation.
This wouldn't have been a problem since it was his day off but on Friday morning his boss called and told him he was needed at work and had to come in right away. Mike explained that he couldn't come because his car was in the shop and he had no other way to get to work. The boss informed him that that wasn't his problem and that Mike had to find a way to get his ass to work. According to the boss he was required to be ready to work whenever the boss wants him to.
Mike had always had Fridays off and had never been required to work on his day off so he had no reason to think that he would have to be ready to work on his day off. He made a couple of phone calls trying to get a ride but wasn't able to get one (he lives in a rural area where there are no cabs or public transportation). He had to call the boss back and tell him that he couldn't come in and ended up staying home.
The next day he came in to work he was in a lot of trouble and close to losing his job. As a result he did some research to find out what his rights are and found out that he has none. Employers can in fact require employees to come to work at pretty much any time and the employee has to be ready to come to work or lose his/her job. It doesn't matter if it's on a scheduled day off and there is no requirement that the employer give any notice.
To me this is inherently unfair and akin to slavery. For all intents and purposes we employees clearly don't own our own time to do as we please with as we're required to drop everything and jump when the boss says "jump". No plans can be made as one can never be sure if one will be required to work. When I had a similar problem at work once over a dentist appointment I had made for my day off which I was later required to work my boss told me that I should report any appointments or plans I have made for a regular day off ahead of time and get it okayed. That tells me that the time isn't really mine but just given to me at my employer's discretion.
Should employers really have that much power over their employees? Or should employees have a legal right to refuse to come to work on a scheduled day off? Should employers be required to post schedules ahead of time so that employees can plan? Shouldn't our time when not working be ours to do as we please with? If not, we don't own our time and aren't really free. I know some will make the argument "you're free to quit if you don't like it" but in reality it doesn't work that way. If we don't work we can't provide for our basic needs so quitting isn't a reasonable option.
Thoughts?
Mike couldn't call a taxi? He couldn't rent a car. Take care of employment first and then deal with the boss. Instead, Mike put himself in a position of defense. Instead of getting to work and then afterward speaking with his boss, all he did was make sure his not showing up because the issue.
It is the responsibility of the employee to have transportation to get to work and the employer shouldn't have to worry about it.
Also, we are getting one side of the story. Strange that suddenly, for no good reason stated in the post, the employer decided to just call mike and tell him to get to work. No mention of any circumstances that might have come up that demanded Mike's services as an employee. Did Mike's boss suddenly decide to be a jerk? Doubtful, not saying it didn't happen that way but very doubtful.
What did Mike do all day? Sit around? Seems like Mike didn't try very hard to get to work. Mike could have called the repair shop to see if they could provide him with a loaner car or a ride (some will do that). In any event, Mike failed to plan for this event which could happen. Even though Mike rarely worked on that day, Mike never thought it would happen? I'm betting that Mike's employment includes that day as a work day but so far it hasn't come up. It was Mikes job to plan for it.
All that being said, Mike's boss needs a serious talk. Mike is now in the position though, not to have the upper hand but going to the discussion hat in hand, if his boss even wants to talk about it anymore.
There is more to this story that isn't being told.
If an employee agrees to a contract that gives them fewer rights than the law allows, it is probably legal..
It changes nothing-you cannot waive the right to be classified correctly. The IRS would not allow it, as when you see those suits with those huge back wages, the IRS and State Revenue departments say ca-ching, and collect all the back taxes, employer and employee, too.
It is the responsibility of the employee to have transportation to get to work and the employer shouldn't have to worry about it.
Sure on a regularly scheduled work day, but not on a scheduled day off and certainly not at the last moment unless someone's life is in danger.
Some people will always take the employer's side even in what should be an absurdly one-sided issue like this one. And some of these people aren't even upper management, I don't get it.
Some people will always take the employer's side even in what should be an absurdly one-sided issue like this one. And some of these people aren't even upper management, I don't get it.
Many people are by nature rubberbacked headnodders, kneescraping lackeys and servile toadies.
Mike couldn't call a taxi? He couldn't rent a car. Take care of employment first and then deal with the boss. Instead, Mike put himself in a position of defense. Instead of getting to work and then afterward speaking with his boss, all he did was make sure his not showing up because the issue.
It is the responsibility of the employee to have transportation to get to work and the employer shouldn't have to worry about it.
Like another poster stated, on a regularly scheduled day, sure. If he has the day off, it is NOT his responsibility to come in unless there are dire circumstances (economic meltdown, someone's gonna die!). It's the manager's responsibility to make due without his employee when he is off. Plain and simple. If he can't, then he's a poor planner and, even worse, a poor manager.
And it's absurd for Mike to have to incur the cost of a taxi cab or rental car ($$$) in this situation since he already had the day off. For any other day, I'd say you're right. Mike should take the bus or something. But on this day, Mike did nothing wrong. His boss overreacted.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Mack Knife
There is more to this story that isn't being told.
It's interesting how you can't take the OP at face value. Do you imply that everyone is lying because what they have told you doesn't fit your idea of what should have happened? I mean, it's one thing if there is something unusually sketchy about how something came to be. But I think this story is pretty straightforward and makes perfect, logical sense. Mike gets called into work on his day off, but he can't make it in because his car is in the shop (which was probably planned for his day off). Irrational boss gets angry because Mike can't make it in on his day off. Dumb crap like this happens every day. Crappy managers DO exist. Why is that so hard to believe?
Looking back... the only significant bumps in the road I have had are all related to being called after hours, on vacation or on holidays...
It's not a holiday if you have to come in and don't get paid for it.
The biggest problems are calls that roll to voice mail... the company did away with pagers that worked everywhere and handed out T-Mobil cell phones... only for company business and must be answered 24/7 unless on approved vacation.
The reality is the coverage is spotty at best... one bar at best in my neighborhood and many places, even my own backyard with zero coverage...
We do the best we can... bosses are not always rational even when presented with all the facts...
In my case... the only time I was told I was fired was when I was using a weed string trimmer in my backyard on a Sunday... didn't get the call till I came in for a glass of water and cell started beeping messages 3
Stayed home the next day and the boss called to see why I wasn't at work and I said you told me I was done...
In retrospect... the best thing I did was to invite the boss to my home... unfortunately, it was only after several years of cell problem.
Boss could see no cell coverage, dead zones and it was like an island of no coverage... which is precisely why I got rid of my personal cell... because it simply wouldn't work where I lived.
Another irony is the company cell doesn't even work in many places of the Hospital because is lead walls and such...
A company cell has been the cause of 95% of my workplace grief and all the expectations that go with it...
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