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HP Contract Workers Sue For Recognition

Posted by Zonk on from the spurious-assertion dept.

manganese4 writes "The Idaho Statesman is carrying the story of 33 local Boise HP contract workers suing HP. They claim that they were expected to perform at the same level of expectations as HP workers and thus should be given the rights and privileges of HP workers. HP claims the suit is without merit." From the article: "The suit seeks to represent 3,000 workers in Boise and elsewhere in the company and could involve as much as $300 million, according to the complaint."

4 of 603 comments (clear)

  1. Contract workers by mingot · · Score: 5, Interesting

    I'm pulling for these guys. Companies tend to have the nasty habit of using what they call contractors to get out of paying taxes and benifits that they really should be. If you go to the IRS website and look up the rules which are used to determine whether someone is an employee or contractor it's clear that rules are being broken.

  2. contracting at Apple by Eric+Smith · · Score: 5, Interesting
    When I started a contract job at Apple Computer in the late 1980s, they made me sign a statement that I was not an Apple employee, was not elgible for the benefits Apple provided to employees, and that if any time I believed that I was an Apple employee, I was to deliver written notification to Apple's legal department. The purpose of this statement was presumably to avoid the exact situation HP appears to be in.

    Later Apple did hire me as an employee. At that point since I believed that I was an employee, pursuant to the previously signed statement I wrote a notice and tried to deliver it to Apple's legal department. They seemed completely flummoxed as to why I was notifying them that I was an employee.

    1. Re:contracting at Apple by Eric+Smith · · Score: 5, Interesting
      The statement that I signed which said that I would notify Apple Legal if at any time I believed I was an Apple Employee did not say anything whatsoever about my status as a contractor, or the termination of that status, or that the terms of the statement would terminate on any particular date or as a result of any change of status.

      What "most reasonable people would have seen" has very little bearing on the legal interpretation of documents one has signed.

      If I had failed to satisfy my obligation, Apple would potentially have had grounds to sue me. I don't believe that they would have done so, but I also believe that honoring my obligation was the correct thing to do.

  3. Re:More reasons for Outsourcing by ebh · · Score: 5, Interesting

    No, nobody's being abused.

    I was a contractor for ten years, and I've been a full-time employee for the last 12. As a contractor, I understood that I got an hour's pay for an hour's work. Period. I arranged my own vacation, insurance, and everything else that employees get as benefits. It was my job to ensure that my billing rate was high enough that I earned a good living after paying all those expenses, and I did. I earned a VERY good living, usually a lot better than my employee counterparts.

    I quit contracting because I got tired of doing the lowest-level scut work that nobody else wanted, and now I earn a good living as an employee, but I have no illusions about loyalty or job security.

    If I was abused by anybody, it was by the contract houses, who skimmed (or tried to, at least) an excessive amount of my raw billing rate as pure profit for them. Needless to say, when I found a contract house that treated me like I might actually know how the business works, I stuck with them.