July 22, 2013 at 10:54 am
mmartin1 (7/21/2013)This issue may have more than meets the eye. Depending on the exact work that you do and the money you make, the company may be able to say you are an exempt employee. What your own company does may (or may not) have bearing, unless there is something explicit in the contract. See the CFR (code of federal regulation) section 541. It discusses the legal basis for exempting individuals from overtime, and are generally sctrict. You can search "CFR 541 DOL" where dol is the department of labor.
Your job likely falls under the "computer professional" and they can be exempt employee under the code (again depending on the majority or priority of your tasks and your salary).
If you feel you are entitled to overtime, always keep track of your hours on your own and contact the local labor board where you reside or where you did the work. One of those will have jurisdiction to review the matter.
The OP doesn't meet the very first requirement to be considered an exempt employee - he stated that he's "hourly-paid". As explained in 29 CFR Part 541, Subpart G, to be considered exempt from the minimum wage and overtime requirements, an employee must be compensated on a "salary basis", i.e., the employee receives a fixed amount per pay period that is not subject to reduction based on the quantity or quality of work. Plus, the salary must be at least $455 per week.
As for those of us "computer employees" paid a salary, well, we're just stuck working the long hours!
Ahh, Good note there. I guess that solves that mystery. I for one am not a fan of reading legal text that goes on and on.
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July 22, 2013 at 11:40 am
mmartin1 (7/22/2013)
mmartin1 (7/21/2013)This issue may have more than meets the eye. Depending on the exact work that you do and the money you make, the company may be able to say you are an exempt employee. What your own company does may (or may not) have bearing, unless there is something explicit in the contract. See the CFR (code of federal regulation) section 541. It discusses the legal basis for exempting individuals from overtime, and are generally sctrict. You can search "CFR 541 DOL" where dol is the department of labor.
Your job likely falls under the "computer professional" and they can be exempt employee under the code (again depending on the majority or priority of your tasks and your salary).
If you feel you are entitled to overtime, always keep track of your hours on your own and contact the local labor board where you reside or where you did the work. One of those will have jurisdiction to review the matter.
The OP doesn't meet the very first requirement to be considered an exempt employee - he stated that he's "hourly-paid". As explained in 29 CFR Part 541, Subpart G, to be considered exempt from the minimum wage and overtime requirements, an employee must be compensated on a "salary basis", i.e., the employee receives a fixed amount per pay period that is not subject to reduction based on the quantity or quality of work. Plus, the salary must be at least $455 per week.
As for those of us "computer employees" paid a salary, well, we're just stuck working the long hours!
Ahh, Good note there. I guess that solves that mystery. I for one am not a fan of reading legal text that goes on and on.
Legislators and regulators have a nasty habit of burying the crux of the matter in the darkest, most obscure corners of the text. You get your secret decoder ring when you graduate from law school.
Jason Wolfkill
July 23, 2013 at 7:01 am
Evil Kraig F (3/12/2013)
...I charge 1 hour for every 4 simply for being ON CALL, forget if they need to actually use me, then it's full rate, when I'm doing DBA work. It's not negotiable...Pay them or I walk. We're not discussing it. Part of the reason I contract is because so many employers think tech workers don't need sleep nor weekends.
Well said.
Hakim Ali
www.sqlzen.com
July 23, 2013 at 2:40 pm
Are you sure you personally are a consultant?
If you're paid a salary by your employer, then you're no more a consultant than the receptionist is, even if your employer does bill hours to the client.
"Do not seek to follow in the footsteps of the wise. Instead, seek what they sought." - Matsuo Basho
July 26, 2013 at 7:26 pm
Employee or consultant, it's not such important how I am called. But here is the situation, and I'll try to explain it as clear as possible.
I am employee of a company I will call "A". They pay me on W-2 on hourly basis. But I am placed on a project for a company called "B". I even have not ever been in A's office. My desk and PC in B's place.
Every week I fill out online timesheet which is also accessible by my A's manager. There are some weeks when I work 50 hours and put the same into timesheet. But B's manager approves only 40. Hence A pays me only 40 hours.
July 26, 2013 at 8:27 pm
This is real easy but it doesn't sound like you've taken the first proper step. Contact company "A" and explain the situation. Then have company "A" inform company "B" that it's against their policy for their employees to work unpaid overtime simply because that's what the contract says... "All hours put in will be paid".
I believe you'll find that company "A" has such a policy and will be happy to help you enforce it.
--Jeff Moden
Change is inevitable... Change for the better is not.
July 29, 2013 at 7:10 am
SQL Guy 1 (7/26/2013)
Employee or consultant, it's not such important how I am called. But here is the situation, and I'll try to explain it as clear as possible.I am employee of a company I will call "A". They pay me on W-2 on hourly basis. But I am placed on a project for a company called "B". I even have not ever been in A's office. My desk and PC in B's place.
Every week I fill out online timesheet which is also accessible by my A's manager. There are some weeks when I work 50 hours and put the same into timesheet. But B's manager approves only 40. Hence A pays me only 40 hours.
It sounds like you're a sub-contractor. You're a W-2 employee and consulting firm A who bills your hours to client B, but you get paid no overtime. That's a standard deal for database administrators. If you conistently work more than 40 hours a week and don't feel as if you're not compensated fairly, then ask for a pay raise.
"Do not seek to follow in the footsteps of the wise. Instead, seek what they sought." - Matsuo Basho
July 30, 2013 at 6:17 am
How I understand this is that you are an employee of Company A and should have a contract of employment with them. Company A has sold your services to Company B and there will be a contract for services between them. This is perfectly normal for any contractor.
The contract between company A and B may specify the hours you are expected to work. If you are being asked to work additional hours beyond this then tell your employeer (company A) as it seems likely that in this case Company B are failing to pay for all services provided. You may find that you are legally required to do this and not doing so could lead to you being open to legal repercussions due to falsifying your timesheet. In this case as the request is at the behest of Company B they would have no right to refuse to approve the extra hours on the timesheet and you should expect company A to pay you for those hours.
On the otherhand if you choose to work those hours without being asked then you should still include them on your timesheet. In this case Company B may refuse to authorise them - in this case stop volunteering your time for nothing.
In short the max (and min) hours you are expected to work should be spellt out in the contract between companies A and B - this will dictate what company A charges company B.
I would expect your contract with company A will also have clauses relating to working time and you need to check this as it will affect what you may be recompensed - it should also detail your entitlements to Holiday and sick pay. Your first step should be to discuss this with your HR department - that is Company A.
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