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No. I have something similar, on a smaller scale, going on with my job. Due to budget cuts I some positions (including my supervisors) were eliminated and I took on a lot of responsibility I shouldn't have, and worked longer hours that I was hired to work. In my case I have done all the work and didn't complain because this job was my reentry to the workforce after a long period. I have learned a lot and built up my confidence with every new task that was handed to me. I feel comfortable leaving for a better position, and once I let that info leak (by telling the office gossip) my employer is frantically looking for a way to keep me.
This isn't unusual for Executive Assistants to the CEO, with the possible exception of the hiring/firing.
This is in fact the norm.
This and not even at a CEO level. In business a lot of times people have to take on responsibilities of a manager prior to becoming a manager. Then when a spot comes open they already know you can handle the role.
A gal I know has a great job at a sizeable national company. Company does well. However, after chatting with her about her position, it became clear she is not getting compensated. In fact, there may be some sexism.
Basically she is an exec admin, but is treated like a manager. She has people reporting to her. Performance reviews from her boss, the locations president....outstanding, often referring to her as a manager in black in white. She only reports to him. What does she do? AP, Payroll, minor HR, customer service, tech support, make decisions about scheduling, hires/fires people, (+ more) and is part of the MONTHLY MANAGERS MEETINGS...only attended by.. you guess it... managers.
The problem? If she is a true manager with the title, per company guidelines, she has to become salary and get profit sharing. After looking around and researching, this company which currently employs 150 people in her branch has zero female managers. There are many men, some I know personally, that are ill equipped to have been promoted to a manager. The head company in California put a freeze on all promotions for 3 months term a short while back. However, my friends boss, the branch president, managed to get 2 of his male friends into management positions along with the title, salary, sharing. The president of her brand also told her she is worth more than paid, but was not authorize to give anyone more than a 3% raise. He then gave 10% raises to several male laborers.
Now if a job sucks, and you are not treated well, move on. No big decision there, don't whine, go get another job. But where is the moral and legal line between doing the job of a manager, not getting paid for it, not getting the title, getting called a manager, and having possible sexism come into play? She is missing out on about $15-20k a year.
Thanks!
First of all, morality is irrelevant with regards to compensation.
Secondly, is your friend upset about this, or only you? If she isn't why do you care? And if she is, she should do something about it, or let it go. Find another job, negotiate a raise, or file a lawsuit.
How does she know how much the men that were given promotions make? Because of her position in payroll and HR? By blabbing, she may be on shaky legal ground as well.
I have a position that is very similar to this situation. My boss constantly tells me I'm worth more, but we don't have the money to give us what we are all worth. There are many more men that make more than I do, but those men have advanced college degrees that benefit the company. Why do I stay? Because I love my job, my commute is 10 minutes (in the huge metroplex I live in, that's a huge perk), and I believe in the company and its future. I also love my boss, and find him easy to work with. There are other things that make a job desirable, besides money.
As for legality, just you state the reasons you believe your friend is a "manager". People report to her, but unless she makes the decisions regarding those reports, she is only an information gatherer. And attending a meeting doesn't make you a member of the group meeting. She could be taking notes, or making copies.
The big question, again, really is why do YOU care?
Three choices:
A, Find another job
B, File sex discrimination charges, be ostracized at the place she works and could possible effect her finding another job as bad news travels fast, after all who wants a trouble maker.
C, Suck it up and either hope things get better or accept her current status.
4th option: file a class action lawsuit and win big, as has happened to Microsoft, among others, who have had to pay out big bucks for asserting that their employees were contractors and therefore not subject to the labor laws.
Once upon a time, I was successful in a Calif state labor board complaint against a Big Company who refused to pay me overtime because I was "exempt". Ha ha the employer was unable to prove that I was management, when I filled out a time card like all the drones around me
Businesses will lie whenever they can. The free market apologists will say that employees have a choice. Yep they do. Take it or leave it.
Or you can move to China and hope you will be hired to do the job that your former employer just outsourced.
In her case, she is known as an Administrative Assistant, quite often called a Personal Assistant. A PA to a top executive is a powerful person You say, she has a great job. Why do you want her given the title of manager. A top PA, has a lot more power than a lot of managers. She is the one the managers have to work with. She controls her boss's appointments, and is the one that decides if a problem should be handled by her boss, or by some other manager. She evaluates other employees, and makes decisions on a high level.
She is the one that makes a lot of decisions and calls managers to take care of problems. The duties you say she has, is above just being a manager of some department. Her position, is to see things run smoothly, evaluate employees, see that her boss's orders are carried out in a timely manner.
Why do you want her demoted, and turned into just a manager? She would lose a lot of her power and control, and just be one of numerous managers. The big boss's Personal Assistant, is one of the most powerful people in the company. The one mere managers, do not want to get on the wrong side of. She is the one that has the boss's ear.
I am guessing because managers get paid more money and participate in profit sharing
4th option: file a class action lawsuit and win big, as has happened to Microsoft, among others, who have had to pay out big bucks for asserting that their employees were contractors and therefore not subject to the labor laws.
Once upon a time, I was successful in a Calif state labor board complaint against a Big Company who refused to pay me overtime because I was "exempt". Ha ha the employer was unable to prove that I was management, when I filled out a time card like all the drones around me
Businesses will lie whenever they can. The free market apologists will say that employees have a choice. Yep they do. Take it or leave it.
Or you can move to China and hope you will be hired to do the job that your former employer just outsourced.
I am guessing because managers get paid more money and participate in profit
sharing
The OP never said, the EA did not get paid as well as managers. Many actually get paid more than a lot of managers. And as to profit sharing for managers. Most managers of departments do not get profit sharing.
The friend of the OP is the one upset. According to the OP the assistant is happy with her job and thinks she is doing great.
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