| Back to Home > Bulletin Board > Beginner Issues > Topic: Cheated out of overtime pay |
Topic: Cheated out of overtime pay
  Page 1 of 1   |
|
| Author | Message |
| Poundsonkeys | Posted – 2/13/2005 7:22:40 PM | show profile | email poster Three months ago I started as an EA at a well known book publisher in NYC. At the time of hiring, I was told, in writing, that my salary was based on 35 hours a week, plus a daily 1-hour unpaid lunch. If I worked over 35 hours a week, I would get straight hourly compensation for the first 5 hours OT, and then 1.5x hourly compensation above that. Since starting, I have wolfed down lunch at my desk (<10 min) every day and spent 45+ hours every week at my desk. Yet when I indicated that on my timesheet, management refused to approve the OT, saying it was 'unnecessary.' Since then, I've been told not to bother putting any OT hours down; I just won't get paid for them. This job already pays badly ($25.5k). After reading about many people trying to break into publishing, I feel lucky for landing this job. Yet I feel cheated and don't have any bargaining power because there are tons of talented people lined up willing to take this job. Any advice or similar experiences to share? |
| Marie | Posted – 2/13/2005 8:54:40 PM | show profile I would simply take the hour lunch. Really, it will do you a lot of good. Don't make a big announcement about how now you're now going to take lunches because you're not being paid for them, just take them. Come back in exactly one hour. And leave on time, too, without an announcement. Work a little late when you have work, but cut down your hours. If management claims your overtime was unnecessary, it probably was. Just pick up the work the next day. Working long is not necessarily working smart. People who log long hours at the office are not necessarily accomplishing that much, and they don't necessarily look that great to the boss. Often, they're thought of as drones. It actually looks better to get your work done within the normal hours of your job. Makes you look organized and together and on top of things. When you have a special deadline that's going to require a lot of extra hours, ask about the overtime, or comp time. If they say it's unnecessary, trust that it is. |
| Marie | Posted – 2/13/2005 9:00:41 PM | show profile Oh, and for the overtime money you lost, it's lost. So stop working overtime. You're right--for that low salary, you shouldn't be putting in too many, if any, extra hours. |
| Poundsonkeys | Posted – 2/13/2005 9:13:54 PM | show profile | email poster Thanks for the response! I'll try not to stay late and get everything done before 5. But how would I handle this common situation? At 4:45 or so, my boss will hand me something that he says must be done before I leave. |
| Poundsonkeys | Posted – 2/13/2005 9:16:40 PM | show profile Oh yeah, I forgot to mention, sometimes I'll get something plopped on my desk at 4:45 with instructions that it has to be done before I leave, and then the manager will take off! |
| MyPublicistIsHot | Posted – 2/13/2005 9:43:46 PM | show profile Listen to the posters; they're very smart. As for the boss, you might want to send an email at 3:30-ish, saying you're trying to prioritize the rest of your day, and what should be done before 5? Make this a routine check-in and see how it goes. If she's unresponsive, then you probably should leave the work for the morning, unless it's an emergency - and if it really becomes a problem, have an honest talk with your boss about helping you with the OT. |
| lastdaysofdisco | Posted – 2/13/2005 9:44:12 PM | show profile you're right, it's not fair--but be cautious make sure that you're putting your own long-term interests ahead of short-term ones. yes, it's unfair not to be paid for overtime hours, but hardly any publishers routinely pay overtime anymore, so you're in good company. as for your hours, what hours do your fellow assistants work? make sure that your work schedule is in keeping with your company's prevailing culture, or you will look bad no matter how much you get done between 9 and 5 (sad, but true). when you accepted the job, you accepted the salary, too. so shift your focus from the unfairness of unpaid overtime to figuring out how to put yourself in line for a nice raise when it comes time for your first review. |
| Marie | Posted – 2/13/2005 11:17:35 PM | show profile If you're routinely getting last-minute ''must be done today'' work handed to you at 4:45, talk to your manager (the person who oversees the overall functioning of your dept. and would be approving schedules and overtime), because it would seem that's an example of when overtime is necessary...find out if you can be paid for the overtime (this is different from someone coming to you in a rare instance with a last-minute request, which I would just do). Getting approval for overtime in advance is different from what you did before--simply putting in for it when it wasn't authorized. If you're routinely getting these late assignments, the manager might help you straighten that out too, by talking to the person who's giving you this last-minute work. |
| itsc2 | Posted – 2/14/2005 9:48:00 AM | show profile I'm not sure I completely agree with the poster who just suggests taking your hour-long lunch break and leaving at 5; I also am an EA at a company where everyone works while they eat at their desks and getting out the door at 5:00 constitutes ''incredibly early'' and I know I couldn't just cut back on my hours without it becoming an issue. (I don't stay late for fun; there's stuff to do and deadlines will be missed if I don't stay... and having to change a date with a printer, say, because I HAD to be out the door at 5 would cost the company a lot more than the $20 an hour or say that I make overtime) Your boss probably isn't aware of the situation with you getting paid -- I don't know what your relationship is with her, but do you think it would be possible to talk to her about it and see if she call explain to HR that you DO need to work these hours? Or, are there other EAs there you'd feel comfortable asking if they're in a similar situation? They might at least be able to tell you if they had the same problem and if they were able to fix it. Anyway, as the other poster said, it does suck and I don't think there's anyway to get paid for the hours you've already worked, but I don't know if I'd just start taking hour lunch breaks when you never have without at least explaining to someone what the situation is. Good luck!! |
| Marie | Posted – 2/14/2005 10:54:22 AM | show profile I didn't say run out the door at 5, but just to start taking lunch and cut back hours. And when you do get continual last-minute work, talk to your manager about it. You can do all this in a low-key, pleasant way. You know, taking lunch outside the office generally contributes to your productivity...I tried it once; the difference in my attitude and the amount of work I got done was amazing. I didn't get that 4 pm droop. I would take lunch. |
| whosays | Posted – 2/14/2005 11:19:36 AM | show profile Take lunch -- you may start an anti-burnout trend! Even if it's a half-hour, it's enough to clear your head. By law, a full workday gets you a half-hour plus two 15-minute breaks, which companies are allowed to lump together as one hour. So you're entitled to this time. George W. Bush and Company altered overtime rules about a year ago. I don't know the new rules, as I haven't worked as a supervisor in a few years (now freelance), but it might be well to look at how your job is classified and whether or at what point you're eligible for OT. Clear all OT with your supervisor *before* racking it up. This lets your supervisor prioritize the work and control OT costs. If you can, get your supervisor's approval for OT in writing -- e-mail will do. Then you have something you can take to payroll or HR as evidence to claim your OT pay. |
| roja93 | Posted – 2/14/2005 12:18:28 PM | show profile Neither payroll nor HR would contest OT pay if it had the right signature on it. |
| andrea | Posted – 2/14/2005 7:19:35 PM | show profile Dear NewEA, I'm sorry you've found yourself in this situation. It's never fun working long hours only to realize that you aren't getting paid for it. But, for what it's worth, I've never heard of the employee being the one to decide when overtime is necessary. As a manager, it's my decision when overtime hours are necessary to finish a project and I then indicate to the editors under me that we have this project and overtime time is being offered to those who complete it. I would be quite surprised if an EA took it upon themselves to skip lunch and then wanted me to pay them for the hour they sat at their desk. The issue isn't whether that person was working hard or not. It's that skipping lunch wasn't necessary, required, or asked for. I'd sit down with your boss and try to get a better handle on what he/she expects. And, if you can't afford to live without the overtime you were expecting, start looking for a new job. Good luck! Andrea |
| Marie | Posted – 2/14/2005 7:28:43 PM | show profile Exactly. Andrea managed to say, and convey, my exact sentiments, albeit in a much more articulate fashion. And from her, you have the manager's perspective. |
| Marie | Posted – 2/14/2005 7:37:20 PM | show profile I should probably stop but I'd like to say that sometimes a culture of lateness gets bred into a place when the late hours are really not necessary nor really expected from nonexempt employees (during magazine or book deadlines would be the exception, and in those cases, enlightened managers give time off--usually informally--when things slow down again). And as I already said, long hours don't necessarily equal productivity, nor are they necessarily admired. Editors should not be giving you work at 4:45 p.m. and expect it that day. That's where your dept's manager needs to step in to ensure a smoother workflow. Everyone will benefit, including the disorganized editors handing you assignments at the last minute. Good luck with however you decide to handle your situation. Just try to stay calm and congenial. |
| even_newer-id | Posted – 2/14/2005 10:01:47 PM | show profile Wow, this is an awful lot to lay on a new EA. Get the boss to break bad work habits. Talk to the boss' boss. Cure all the department's ills, etc. Really, how many of us could have handled stuff like that in the early days of our first jobs. This advice is all well and good for someone with more experience but I don't find it very realistic in this particular case. My advice would be to start small. Find out exactly what the policy on OT is. I certainly understand why a manager would balk at overtime because you decided on your own to eat lunch at your desk. But what's not clear here is whether you didn't get OT simnply because it wasn't authorized in this particular case or because the company tries to weasel out of paying OT when it really should be. I say get the rules on OT straight from your boss. Learn from other employees what the actual practices are. And take it from there. I would indeed recommend taking lunch even if others frown upon it. Don't make a big deal of it or anything, just do it. Some people might tsk tsk, but others may even follow your lead. I'm not as optimistic as Marie about overturning the culture of working late and long. While I agree a lot of people who do it are indeed inefficient, it's a very tough thing to opt out of an office culture like that -- especially for the new kid on the block. |
| Poundsonkeys | Posted – 2/14/2005 10:26:50 PM | show profile | email poster Thank you SO MUCH for all your advice! I guess this was a bit of a shock for me since it's the first time I've ever not been paid at an hourly rate. I'd feel a bit worried leaving right at 5, since I'm never the last one out. I think there's a culture of staying late, not taking lunches, and all that. Not everyone subscribes to it, but most people in the lower levels do. Some people are there 8am to 9pm or later. (Not necessarily doing work, I might add. It seems like putting in office time is important, and it doesn't make that much of a difference whether you spend the whole time working or half the day surfing the net.) I'm always an extremely careful and thorough worker, checking and double checking everything until it's perfect. That hasn't changed, but lately I've found myself being able to finish tasks in a lot less time. When I was first starting out, things would take me forever to finish because everything was new. So I guess part of my frustration stemmed from the fact that what isn't 'necessary' for an experienced worker IS necessary for someone just starting out, and that's never taken into consideration in overtime decisions. |
| roja93 | Posted – 2/15/2005 12:11:21 PM | show profile Just do superb work, and leave when it's done. Don't hang around the office unless you're working. This doesn't mean leave at 5, but leave by 6 or so unless you're on a deadline for a specific project. Setting hours like this for yourself will make you much more productive during business hours. The same for lunch. Just knowing you're going to take an hour off in the middle of the day will make you much more productive in the morning. |
| Page 1 of 1 |
|
