Overtime. A rethink which will never happen.

[jayctravis]

My work decided to schedule me to work eight days in a row. My job is not physically difficult, just very stressful.

Normally you'd go "oh...wow...you're raking in the bucks..." but no. The workweek divide happens smack in the middle so technically I'm working four days of last week butted up against four days of this week. The schedules are spit out by a computer program which glances at a bunch of programmed metrics and exceptions and generates it according to a mathematical algorithm. Nobody's really at at fault, but you don't change the schedule.

Apparently my cousin, who is a nurse, has the same problem in a much more detrimental manner - medical workers have the highest job stress. They must be on all the time. So she works probably 40 hours a week, but the way the schedule is divided she only qualifies for part time, so she pays an assload of cash for benefits for her three children. I also hear they're phasing out LPN's in the hospital, so now she is caring for kids, working her normal schedule, but now she's learning learning algebra for the first time in classes to qualify for her RN. She's strong, but I've watched her emotionally stretch thin in a very short period of time to detriment of her well-being and social interactions.

Wouldn't it make sense that overtime should be paid when you hit 40 hours of consecutive work time without a 24-hour period of time off? I know this would give companies leeway to chop the workschedule up (as they do now...overtime is the holy grail of the workweek)...but the time off would keep workers fresh so they are not being beaten in the gears of the system?

[elehhhhna]

1. IIRC something is rotten here. If you are an exempt employee

(and meet the narrowish definition of such per DOL, you are probably SOL.

I belive, however, that wage & hour laws require this be handled differently than your employer has interpreted it. ( These cheap management-type b'stards think they're sooooo clever!) Google the Dep't O'Labor website and other info sites about also hourly wage & labor laws. Pray that Chao (Head DOL) hasn't given ALL employee rights away and report back!

If ouo have troub understanding it etc., don't hesitate to pm me or post here.

[firefox]

2. I am wondering about the change to overtime rules

I was hoping that is what you would write about. I thought that it would be a real awakening once millions lost their overtime. When you spoke of a nurse, I thought for sure you would speak of her overtime loss as many said that the health care industry would be a major benefactor of the rules changes.

The same environment that lets employers push wages and benefits down, also means they can push people with working conditions and hours that would not be tolerated with a good labor environment. Some would say, get used to it.

[madrchsod]

3. call these numbers depending where you are

idl-fair labor division-general information
chicago-312-793-2800
springfield-217-782-6206
southern il-217-993-7090
we have called them several times and they are very helpful in answering questions.

[MercutioATC]

4. Everybody SHOULD be paid OT for any work in excess of 8 hours/day.

That's the way I'm paid, and I'm a federal employee.

[SoCalDem]

5. The way our week was scheduled, I used to regularly get

scheduled 11 days in a row.. 5 in one followed by 6 in the next..:grr: