Labor Questions

palmer1121

Forum Crew Member
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Recently in my department it has been rumored that we will be going from being paid at everything over 40 is overtime to 212 in 28 day pay cycle. My understanding is that by going to the 212 pay schedule to keep our annual salary the same our hourly rate would have to increase. However it is rumored that our municipality is considering not raising our hourly rate, thus effectively reducing our annual salary. Is this legal?

We are not a union state and have no collective bargaining agreement.

Also, it has been rumored that under a new administration all employees will be required to reapply for employment and when/if rehired we will be paid starting wage. Is this legal?
 

Aerin-Sol

Forum Captain
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Labor law varies from state to state. Google "[your state] labor board" and there will be information as well as a number to call with your questions. It's probably legal for them to change your salary, though, unless you have a contract stating otherwise.
 

rescue99

Forum Deputy Chief
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Recently in my department it has been rumored that we will be going from being paid at everything over 40 is overtime to 212 in 28 day pay cycle. My understanding is that by going to the 212 pay schedule to keep our annual salary the same our hourly rate would have to increase. However it is rumored that our municipality is considering not raising our hourly rate, thus effectively reducing our annual salary. Is this legal?

We are not a union state and have no collective bargaining agreement.

Also, it has been rumored that under a new administration all employees will be required to reapply for employment and when/if rehired we will be paid starting wage. Is this legal?

Workers always cry foul after they figure out they done been spooged. The more people stand together, the less likely thess things are to occur. Unionization isn't perfect but, it does provide a conduit for collective bargaining so workers have at least some protection and say when it comes to reductions in work force and compehsation.
 

medic417

The Truth Provider
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Depending on the type of service they can make you work more hours prior to reaching overtime. There is primarily 2 types of 28 day, law enforcement which is 171 hour per 28 days before overtime and fire which is 212 every 28 days prior to overtime. Many services will make you give any days beyond the overtime to part timers in order to keep overtime lower. It really is bogus but you can thank the unions for this arrangement.
 

medic417

The Truth Provider
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rescue99

Forum Deputy Chief
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:) Knew someone would pop up with FLSA. Problem as always; workers aren't very willing to band together to do much about their work environment fearing retaliation... which these same federal agencies will not defend against anyway.

Whatever happened to the good old days when workers stood together for what is right rather than following like a nation of lemmings?
 

JPINFV

Gadfly
12,681
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Whatever happened to the good old days when workers stood together for what is right rather than following like a nation of lemmings?

What ever happened to workers having a work ethic?

Also, I don't need an overpriced union stooge to protect me from my bosses.
 

bigbaldguy

Former medic seven years 911 service in houston
4,043
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Also, I don't need an overpriced union stooge to protect me from my bosses.

If you've never been :censored::censored::censored: by your employer it just means you haven't been working long enough, give it time :)
 

DrParasite

The fire extinguisher is not just for show
6,196
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don't ask us.... call your state's department of labor, or the federal department of labor, that do take anonymous complaints.... or rather, they investigate anonymous complaints and ensure the employer is acting in accordance with the law.
 
OP
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palmer1121

Forum Crew Member
39
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Well nothing has been said for sure yet.. And I don't want to go to the DOL and ask and then they instigate an investigation and it turns out to be much ado about nothing. Not trying to be the "boy who cried wolf" or anything. Just wondering what is legal and what isn't.
 

46Young

Level 25 EMS Wizard
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@ the OP:

It may not be a bad thing after all. I'm fire based, with an average 56 hour workweek. If your actual hours worked per week stay the same, then your hourly rate will, in fact, go up, if your quoted yearly salary is to remain the same. This, in turn, increases your hourly compensation for OT as well. Where I work, our yearly salary is our hourly rate x 56 (hours) x 52 weeks in the year. The extra half time, which averages three hours a week (212/4 = 53, leaving three to equal 56 hours), is the same as an extra hour and a half pay a week. This is in addition to your base salary, BTW. You won't see it on every check, but you'll usually see it at the end of most 28 day FLSA cycles. It shows up on my check as "regular > FLSA threshold."

You can exploit this and make tons of cash! Here's how:

When you do scheduled OT, it's paid at time and a half. That's the law. Besides being paid time and a half, those hours also count towards the 212 hour FLSA threshold for that 28 day cycle. Let's say you do 24 hours of OT. Instead of needing to get to 212 hours to start time and a half, the employer will pay time and a half when you reach 188 hours. That's an extra 24 hours of half time, or 12 hours of full time added to your check, in addition to the OT already worked. If you work at a place that gives copious OT, you can pad your salary nicely if you time it right. First, try and do your OT at the beginning of each 28 day cycle, so that you get that "half time" benefit. Also, really load up and work as much as you possibly can, when you work a cycle where you work 96 hours in the first two weeks, and 144 hours in the second two weeks. I've had several checks where I've netted well over 5k doing this. It's insane! I've already grossed almost 40k this year doing this. I had over $800 gross on the last check in reg > FLSA threshold pay alone.

Also, my dept has either 12 hour or 24 hour OT shifts. We work scheduled 24's, and cannot work over 36 straight, whether it's scheduled or mandatory. OT is based on a list where the person who worked the most recently gets put at the bottom of the list, and the person who worked the longest time ago gets the first call. People who sign up for 24's get preference over those who sign up for 12's, no matter what the last day they did OT. We have whatis called a "star 24". That's when the three shifts work in a consecutive fashion. One shift is just getting off, another is going to work tomorrow, and the third shift is working today. If you take 12 hours leave on your first or last day (schedule WOWOWOOOO), you can sign up for a 24 hour shift with virtually no competition from anyone else, since they're ineligible to work a 24 due to the 36 hour rule.

Have fun with it, and good luck.
 
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medic417

The Truth Provider
5,104
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46young be careful what you say. Many services are getting wise and removing/severely limiting the possibility of overtime. Enjoy it while you have it but with the public perception that we are all getting rich the day is coming that you will lose the ability to do the work around such as you described. Those work around are why the Unions fought to get these laws put in place for the 171 or 212 per 28's. Problem is unions did not think about the fact that those footing the bill would say hey we are still paying you the agreed hourly wage we just are no longer allowing you to abuse it, so no more overtime for you.
 
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