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Workplace BlackBerry Use May Spur Lawsuits
An anonymous reader writes "From an article on cnbc.com: 'As employers hand out electronic devices to their employees at a greater pace, there are growing concerns that workers eligible for overtime pay, known as non-exempt employees, could begin suing their employers for overtime hours earned while tapping on their devices during after-work hours. As a result, lawyers are advising their corporate clients to update their policies and handbooks related to BlackBerry use and reconsider who gets a device.'"
Blackberries are imho meant for those people who for whatever reason can't stop working. Business owners, sales people working on commission only, that idea. And of course that are exactly the people for whom working hours don't count. I'm one of them, even though I don't have nor want a blackberry. If people need to reach me so urgently they can use the phone.
This also makes me wonder, what is a blackberry doing in the hands of employees with fixed working hours? Why are they given one by the company in the first place? This are generally the lower ranked people (now I don't know US labour laws very much) - they have fixed working hours obviously, and are supposed to do (and finish) their work within those hours. I can't think of any reason why they would possibly need one such devices. They are at work, then work, and then will have a computer at hand. If it is the kind of employee that is supposed to run around all the time, e-mail won't be of much interest for them either.
No matter what I think this is mostly a story about the inappropriate use of a technology. The enormous urge of being "ahead of the pack" when it comes to adapting new tech. It is high tech, it is new, "everybody" uses it, etc. That kind of thinking. It sounds like a disconnect between the ideas of the top management and the actual tasks of the workers.
Add to that the idea that all employees want to be important, and having a blackberry these days is for sure equivalent to being important (until recently it were only the high-fliers that would have a need for it and could afford one), so everybody will happily accept a blackberry without thinking about whether they really need one. And then those lower ranked employees also get addicted, forget that they have working hours, start working overtime, and poof, lawsuit!
I truly hope the employees lose in this case, as I consider it unasked for overtime. Completely voluntary overtime. Unless the employers gave the blackberry with the message "now you are reachable at all times", in which case the employer deserves to lose - if only for sheer stupidity.
They've been issued for far longer than Blackberries and haven't spurned lawsuits so far.
Basically, it's not a question of the technology: if you have hourly employees working unreported time, you're asking for trouble. The labor laws are fairly clear in this matter. Whether it's on a Blackberry, laptop, or otherwise is beside the point.
But let's not forget that employers can simply reclassify their hourly employees as salaried and get as much unpaid overtime as they want. And that's perfectly legal, Blackberry or not. This question is more a matter of your employer's semantic classification of your job than whether or not you get paid for your overtime.
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... setting personal boundaries and expectations with your employer and co-workers? Just because you have a Blackberry does not make you an indentured servant.
On a side note, I had a previous employer offer me a Blackberry as an enticement to stay when I gave my notice to leave. Needless to say my decision remained the same.
I own a Blackberry (my own, I'm self employed and also an ISV of a Blackberry app) and the biggest complaint I have about them is many companies hand them out as status symbols and not to the people who could really make good use of them.
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I figured that once I had that thing I'd never be able to get away from it, even on vacation. And that's exactly what happened to everyone else. People won't think twice about sending you an email for stupid little things at 10:00 PM, because they're working and figure everyone else should be as well. But making a phone call is very different, and most people won't do it unless it's something really important. People think it's no big deal because it's just a message. Bullshit.
See, I never used mine that way when I had it. My policy was if it was really important, you gave me a call. Emails were only checked maybe twice a day on the weekends and if it wasn't important (which it hardly ever was) it would wait until Monday.
Berries are one of those tools that are very good when used appropriately and hazardous to your well-being if used improperly. Most people use them improperly. I feel the exact same way about remote access tools. As an IT guy, I think they're great. I can log in, do the two second task I have to, and then I'm done. Regular employees don't like it because it means that the big pile of work on their desks feels like it's staring at them through the intertubes, demanding their attention. "I don't want to be able to work from home, I don't even want to know I'm able to do so!" some people have pleaded with me. I can understand.
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I'm the same way. I give notice to my colleagues of when I'm going on vacation, and I make it clear to them that for the duration of my vacation, I will NOT have my Blackberry with me. To make the point doubly clear, on my last day before vacation, I will point out that the Blackberry is in its cradle at the end of the day, and not on my person.
I am part of an on-call rotation. I will answer the phone if it rings while I'm not on-call, but I do not check my e-mail unless I hear it buzzing incessantly (I leave it on vibrate) for an inordinate amount of time, which means that a lot of messages are coming in and something is probably seriously broken and I'll be called anyway. If I am on-call, I check the subjects of messages but will only open them if they appear to be something about which I need to be concerned. Other than that, it goes back in the holster.
The Blackberry has its use. Its use is not to enslave me. Considering that the employer recently took actions in my favor to try to ensure that I will not leave in the near future, I suspect they know that pushing me on this (if they were so inclined) would not improve their position.
You can never go home again... but I guess you can shop there.
Well you don't have to look at it.
I've carried a work BB for a few years now and I don't think it's been a negative thing at all. No one expects me to be checking email at the weekend so they still have to phone if it's urgent. If I'm on vacation the BB loses it's battery and goes in a drawer. However, if I want to check my morning meeting schedule before going to bed it takes 30 seconds (rather than having to fire up the VPN) and if I do get a call at some ungodly hour I can quickly check the mail trail to see what's been going on. I find it very convenient to be able to get to my work email quickly when I choose to, I don't feel under any pressure to do so more than I would do anyway.
One thing I'm very clear about is that I still carry a personal phone. That way, when I'm not on company time I can choose whether to take the BB or not. Clear separation of work and home life is important.
---- Den ene knappen er powerknapp, den andre er Bender voice knapp "Bite My Shiny Metal Ass"
The problem is not the device - there's a lot of chatter in this thread about the pros and cons of such portable devices, but the core issue is employers who have no regard for employees' personal time and who routinely break wage and hour laws.
Improper handling of "exempt" employee status is probably the most frequently screwed up HR liability in the corporate world because half of managers "heard somewhere" at one point that if you're on salary you're exempt. Wrong. The same people fabricated "flex time" which has no basis in law in the state of California (maybe in other places).
The level of ignorance in upper management with regard to employees rights is mind-numbing.
They don't PAY me for 24/7 support,
Then turn off the Blackberry. It DOES have an off switch, right??
Uh, wow. Seriously it's people like you who make PHB's look at IT as a cost center instead of a strategic asset. The only reason companies have an IT department is to make the other employees more efficient, if you let a server stay down until the morning when everyone else comes in then take a couple hours to half a day to fix it (typical repair times for anything non-trivial regardless of OS) then you've just cost the business .25-.5x the number of employees on that server in man-days. Sure you might be able to sell that as the reason to go with clustering or other HA solutions, but often the wallet just doesn't open that far. On the other hand if you get off your lazy butt and fix it when your monitoring systems tell you it's broke you've just cost the company a total of say 1 man day, your comp day. I seriously don't understand the "it's someone elses problem, if they really want it fixed they can call me" attitude.
There are 4 boxes to use in the defense of liberty: soap, ballot, jury, ammo. Use in that order. Starting now.
Personally...I'll never work for free ever again. Salaried pay is a rip-off.
That depends entirely on the salary. In many cases you are quite correct but not always. Once you climb up towards management, hourly pay generally is no longer an option. Plus in some professions (ex. doctors or investment bankers) hourly pay is simply not going to be an option on the table. Fortunately the pay and bonuses (should) make up for it so long as you don't mind the hours. Whether the hours vs. pay trade-off is worth it is an exercise left for the reader.
Look, if you like being the hero and accepting more responsibility with no increase in compensation, feel free. If I need to be on call 24/7 to personally reboot computers, it will be reflected in my paycheck and scheduled in a professional manner so I know which periods I need to be available. Don't just hand out Blackberries and act like you're giving employees a treat by allowing them to instantly respond to any issues that arise any time of day or night.
If you need 24/7 support, then you pay for it. If 24/7 support is necessary for your company to be efficient, then pay for it. If you call a plumber at 3am, it will cost you a small fortune. But if the option is waiting until 9am when the plumber is cheaper and having the entire building flooded and all your employees sent home, then I guess the cost is worth it. Why do you think IT staff should behave less professionally than the average plumber?
If you expect to be treated like a professional, you have to act like one, and part of acting like one is negotiating responsibilities and compensation.
If someone needs me at 3am to accomplish a critical task, it's important enough for them to pick up the phone and call me and personally explain why I need to get out of bed and do this task right at this moment. I guaran-fucking-tee you that's the same answer your CEO would give to this question. And when we're done with the 3am task, he and I are both going to sit you down and ask why your poor planning required us to get out of bed at 3am to save your ass.
Recursive: Adj. See Recursive.
Over 40 hours a week should not be 'expected', it should only be required for emergencies and last minute pushes on big deadlines
Please understand that emergencies and last minute pushes on big deadlines are to be expected at all times. No overtime means no overtime. If you want to do a good job at leading a team, make it a rule without exceptions.
As an employer, don't pay for overtime, don't ask for overtime and don't allow overtime. It will ruin quality and cost you more.
I used to work at one of the big consulting firms and the following pattern was almost a rule:
1. not finished, stay late
2. come in late or unrested
3. be less productive, deliver poor quality
4. not finished after staying late
If you see that pattern, stop it at once and follow these simple rules:
1. everybody is on time each day
2. no working after 6
3. max 40 hours a week
Show a man some news, distract him for an hour. Show a man some mod points, distract him for the rest of his life.
From the article, "Although experts said that they are not aware of any current lawsuits, they said it's inevitable."
The lawyers are stirring the pot. Nothing else to see, move along. These are not the lawsuits you are looking for.
One ring to bind them - should probably have more fiber and less rings in their diet.