Slashdot Mirror
Who Owns Your Overtime?
HughPickens.com writes: Fran Sussner Rodgers writes in the NY Times that a little-noticed change in the American workplace is about to occur. Later this month the Department of Labor is expected to announce an adjustment to the Fair Labor Standards Act raising the salary threshold for overtime from $23,660 per year to at least double that threshold. In 1975, the last year the threshold was significantly raised, 60 percent of salaried workers fell within the requirement for overtime pay while today, only 8 percent do. The new requirement should be a welcome change for millions of American workers.
But the change also speaks to an issue that affects everyone, whether eligible for overtime or not — the clash between the finite amount of time employees actually have versus the desire of employers to treat time as an inexhaustible resource. Employees in the United States currently work more hours than workers in any of the world's 10 largest economies except Russia. When everything over 40 hours is free to the employer, the temptation to demand more is almost irresistible. But for most employees, the ones exempt from overtime rules, their managers have little incentive to look for ways to use their time more efficiently. "We are a tired, stressed and overworked nation, which has many negative consequences for our personal health and the care of our children. As a nation, we work harder and longer than almost all of our competitors, and much of that work is uncompensated," writes Rodgers. "Time is our personal currency. We parcel it out, hour by hour, to meet the demands placed on us. We all pay a steep price, as individuals and as a nation, when we can't meet our most important obligations."
But the change also speaks to an issue that affects everyone, whether eligible for overtime or not — the clash between the finite amount of time employees actually have versus the desire of employers to treat time as an inexhaustible resource. Employees in the United States currently work more hours than workers in any of the world's 10 largest economies except Russia. When everything over 40 hours is free to the employer, the temptation to demand more is almost irresistible. But for most employees, the ones exempt from overtime rules, their managers have little incentive to look for ways to use their time more efficiently. "We are a tired, stressed and overworked nation, which has many negative consequences for our personal health and the care of our children. As a nation, we work harder and longer than almost all of our competitors, and much of that work is uncompensated," writes Rodgers. "Time is our personal currency. We parcel it out, hour by hour, to meet the demands placed on us. We all pay a steep price, as individuals and as a nation, when we can't meet our most important obligations."
In Washington state where I am, the current value is $9.47 (pretty high in the country and our economy is great, thanks). This current cutoff is the salary equivalent of making a little over $11 an hour, IF they only work you 40 hours a week. That's...pretty low. It also means that if they work you something like nine and a half hours a day on average, you're making less than minimum wage by hour. There's a lotta low grade QA jobs in the tech industry with hours like that and pretty low pay...
I remember when I lived in the States. It was the life of a slave. Working, working and more working. I was in a bilingual position in a school (it was a job exchange program between my country and USA).
One day, the principal gathered all the teachers and said:
"We have decided to help our students by giving them one hour more of tutoring classes after your (very long) school hours. These additional hours are strictly voluntary and they won't be paid. But please do it for the kids!"
Being a foreigner, I thought that everybody was going to reject such a clear exploitation. But all the teachers reacted with enthusiasm:
"Yes! We'll do it for the kids! For the kids!"
I said no and everybody look at me with hostility. Afterwards, I realized that I had tenure in my home country and was able to say no. All the American teachers could say no but the principal could fire them with no reason at all. Hence, they did anything that the principal said.
I went back to my home country and keep on working in my high school and, afterwards, in the government and the World Bank. I never worked as much as worked in the States (and the salary was not good).
As a Brit now living in the US I can clearly see the reason. Even though many companies in the EU won;t stop trying, this endless free overtime malarkey generally does not fly at all because most people there just won't go along with it.
The problem exists in the US because for some reason, the average American employee's mentality is to just accept and give in to whatever employers do to you without any questions or push back at all. If US employees saw their employment contract as what it actually is, a business deal between equals that exchanges time for money at a fixed rate, The problem would end overnight.
People that complain about having to work endless unpaid overtime just need to grow a pair and stand up to being abused. Do exactly what you're paid for, then go home. Seriously.
We allowed ourselves to be convinced we are overpaid. We are extremely prosperous and have a large population. There is no reason not to go to the 6 hour day/30 hour week and employ more people. Overtime is supposed to be for unforeseen circumstances.
“He’s not deformed, he’s just drunk!”
You seriously need to look at what skills are in demand. There are MANY MANY MANY skills that pay over $100 per hour. Day rates of $1500 are far from unheard of. My direct experience sits outside IT but a Senior Highway Engineer c$130 per hour, a flood modeller c$90/hr, a Surveillance Superintendent $120/hr, an onshore rig supervisor $1500 / day
Which has nothing to do with switching to a contractor instead of employee. The difference there is you're always paid per hour. If they want you to work more, you are guaranteed to be paid more. You don't get the luxury of paid holidays and sick leave that employment law gets you, but you tend to get paid a much higher hourly rate.
You'll probably end up paying the same in tax.
In 1996, ...Congress amended the FLSA to include a specific exemption, at Section 13(a)(17), for “Computer Professionals.”
1. The application of systems analysis techniques and procedures, including consulting with users, to determine hardware, software or system functional specifications;
2. The design, development, documentation, analysis, creation, testing or modification of computer systems or programs, including prototypes, based on and related to user or system design specifications; [or]
3. The design, documentation, testing, creation or modification of computer programs related to machine operating systems;
http://www.generalcounsellaw.c...
FLSA: FUBAR.
meep
remember that the pool of good jobs is a lot smaller than the pool of people who want them.
The pool of good jobs is smaller than the pool of people that want them, but bigger than the pool of people that are qualified for them. I live in San Jose, California, and nearly every company here has vacancies they can't fill. Also, neither the pool of jobs, nor the pool of workers, is fixed. Companies will expand if they think skilled workers will be available. Likewise, people will enter the labor market, and improve their skills, if they see jobs being offered. Economics is not zero sum.
They get paid for their hours in China though. Our software engineers in Shanghai always asked for permission to work overtime before doing it. Could you imagine the cultural shift in the US if Americans did the same compared with the current situation where there's no hard boundary?
These rates need to be higher, and pegged to cost of living based on location.
Not really. The exemption just needs to be removed. Full stop. If a company would like a person to work more hours, then they can pay for it. If they want to exempt their C level employees or people for whom working extra hours may increase a bonus, stock option, or company stock, then that is fine.
If you are not allowed to question your government then the government has answered your question.
"A lot of countries work more hours"...
"Doesn't even make the top 10"....
Because your link included countries that somehow, amazingly, have even less worker protections than the US, and aren't our peers on the world stage.
Countries like Poland, Estonia, Greece, and Turkey.
Congratulations on making an stupid point with an improper comparison..
Meanwhile, among comparable countries (which, and this might be a shock to you, is the first step in making a valid comparison), we're among the most worked precisely because of our lack of time off, while other countries require more time off, yet manage similar output.
It's like excusing American gun violence by pointing to the murder rate in Somalia or Honduras.
And just as stupid.
Oh and you mocked unions again, even though they're the only reason for child labor laws, the 40hr work week, the weekend, holidays off, overtime pay, and a host of other worker rights. But again, your stupidity is nothing new. Leave it to a moron like you to act as though these are bad things.
The guy who said the election was rigged won the presidency with the second-most votes.