Undesirable Fallout from High Unemployment

My wife works at a company which I shall not name.  Technically she's a temporary working for a temporary agency employed at a division of a large company in the Finance sector primarily dealing with requirements verification of applications for Real Estate purchases.
 
the company she works for is HUGE - you would immediately recognize the name of the company if I were to mention it, but for liability purposes I will only call it "One of Three."  However, the company she works for is small and was only recently (within 2 years) bought by One of Three.  When I say small, however, they still have probably 100 employees in this one facility.
 
She has told me some of the things that they have done to their employees, especially the low level supervisors and the hourly employees.  Things which, I believe, are violations of the US Labor Laws if they were to be investigated for problems.  Things like:
 
requiring employees to take 15 minute lunches in an 8 hour shift because the work load is behind.
not allowing employees to leave their desks for 15 minute breaks during 8 hour shifts.
requiring (hourly) employees to work overtime with the threat that if they do not then they would be terminated.
telling an employee that she can't take a long lunch in order for her to go to the doctor's office
here's the kicker today:
last Friday a low level supervisor took the day off.  he had asked for the day off 3 months in advance.  during his absence, the work load was exceptionally busy.  his manager sent a text to the supervisor's wife telling her that her husband needed to get to work and that if he ever took a day off again he would be fired.
 
I was appalled by the last 2 - especially the last one.  Supervisor X went to the Site Manager and complained about the text and threat.  The Site Manager backed up Mid-Level manager's actions and told Supervisor X that he had to get over it if he wanted to work there.
 
what I see this as - is that since the unemployment rate is so high right now, employers can treat the employees any way they want without reprocussion because the employees need their job so badly.  if unemployement were lower, more jobs would be available and Supervisor X would simply have walked out and found a better job and probably turned in Site Manager and Mid-Level Manager for violating his rights.
 
This is a sad state of time we live in for non-represented employees to be treated as if they are slaves.  it will get worse if the unemployement situation doesn't get better.  The employees have no choice but to put up with whatever the management throws at them if they want to keep their jobs.  The management knows the job market is so thin that their employees have no choice but to do whatever the management tells them to do even if that violates their rights.
 
sad indeed.

Beagle, I think you may be missing the forest by staring at a tree.

I sincerely think you are simply very late to have recognized that we have just lived through 8 4 year cycles where politicians have hood winked people into voting about "moral" issues while special interests were very busy gutting any and every advancement that "labor" had made in the past 120 years.

It started in 1980.

I think it serves as a compelling example of why our founding fathers encouraged us to separate things we think about.

People have somehow been inspired to vote against their own basic day to day interests... the systematic bait and switch project was incredibly effective.


I've been working "out in the real world" as a work for hire contractor for so long that it seems like the people who assumed that the country has been pleasant for the past 30 years were just really good at not noticing what has been happening.

all the best,
mike

People just ain't no good.

bapu

UbiquitousBubba


Bapu just ain't no good. ~jackn2mpu

Reece,

I am sorry to hear about the situation where your wife is enslaved works. The world has gone mad methinks.

 
yep.  Luckily it hasn't affected her directly yet.  but I suspect it might happen soon because she told them that she has other committments after work for the next 3 weeks and can no longer work OT.  we'll see how well it goes over.  My wife is not one to take things without a fight.  You'd think she was red-headed or something*.
 
 
 
 
 
*looking at you, Karyn.....

Were any of these orders put into writing?
I'm pretty sure that all of those things you describe are illegal and if the employer is one of the big three, there has to be a lawyer willing to represent the employees on contingency. I believe the Justice Department might be interested, too.
Of course, a multi-million dollar fine could cause the company to shut down, putting everyone on the street. Then the company would just relocate, change names and hire a bunch more people.
Where I work, one of the largest retailers in the world, we are required to take a 15 minute break every 2 hours and at least a 30 minute lunch if our shift is 7+ hours. These requirements are based on federal law, which I assume, applies to everyone in the US, possibly depending on the size of the company and the industry.
In fact, if we are scheduled to work more than 6 hours and we don't lunch punch before the 6th hour, we're automatically punched out by the computer and if you happened to be working at that time (like you were on your way to punch out but a customer asks for help and you give it, making you late) you have to go into the computer and make an electronic time adjustment.
 
Frankly, if I was in your wife's shoes, I would walk out and then walk right in to the local newspaper office while on the cell phone to the Justice Department or Texas Attorney General and screw the consequences.

57Gregy


Were any of these orders put into writing?
 

of course not.  except the text to the supervisor's wife.  that one is probably the only one that would be concrete evidence.

I'm pretty sure that all of those things you describe are illegal and if the employer is one of the big three, there has to be a lawyer willing to represent the employees on contingency. I believe the Justice Department might be interested, too.

yes, I'm sure they would, too...but...
[quoteOf course, a multi-million dollar fine could cause the company to shut down, putting everyone on the street. Then the company would just relocate, change names and hire a bunch more people.
EXACTLY!  not only that, but "One of Three" has also recently aquired another company very similar to this one which does more volume more efficiently than this one does.  if this company causes any problems they'd be shut down in a heartbeat and the other company would take over all of the work.
[quoteWhere I work, one of the largest retailers in the world, we are required to take a 15 minute break every 2 hours and at least a 30 minute lunch if our shift is 7+ hours. These requirements are based on federal law, which I assume, applies to everyone in the US, possibly depending on the size of the company and the industry.
yes, unless the law has changed, I thought the federal law was actually 30 min lunch every 6+hour shift.  (and I used to work for Wally-world myself for 5 years! back in the '80's)

In fact, if we are scheduled to work more than 6 hours and we don't lunch punch before the 6th hour, we're automatically punched out by the computer and if you happened to be working at that time (like you were on your way to punch out but a customer asks for help and you give it, making you late) you have to go into the computer and make an electronic time adjustment.
 
Frankly, if I was in your wife's shoes, I would walk out and then walk right in to the local newspaper office while on the cell phone to the Justice Department or Texas Attorney General and screw the consequences.

if we could survive without her income, I'm sure she would.  like I said - nothing has been directed at her yet, so it's not her fight yet.  I'm sure if it gets personal she'll start swinging punches!

The place I worked for 25 years had over 13,000 employees when I started. It's closed now.

When it was down to about 3,500 employees it was sold to a company based in an other country. I started out as a tradesman but I grew bored and clawed my way to middle management. 12 years as a union man and the balance on salary.

Every day in management I saw stuff like Beagle is describing. I got a memo one day telling me that I was a valued member of the team but my vacation each year was being cut in half to help the team. The indexing of my pension was eliminated. It just kept happening.

When I protested, I was told that as management I had no contract and no collective agreement. In fact the company could do whatever they want and I was free to take them to court if I wanted. Well, I quickly found out that one man on the moral high ground is no match for an American corporation with a room full of lawyers.

So Beagle, I can truly share this experience with you, I get it. Tell your Mrs to hang in and keep lots of notes. If she challenges them, unemployment is a real possibility. If she complains too much she'll get a target painted on her.

Don't look for lawyers or politicians to help you. Corporations rule the world right now and we've done everything to give them the upper hand.

If that Governor from Texas ever gets elected as president I shudder to think what will happen to the U.S.

Salaried employees are in a different class. Lots of rules do not apply. I know, I used to be there too, but fortunately, the company I worked for actually took better care of it's salaried staff employees then it did the union riff raff that worked the machines.... they made them adhere to the contract in all matters.  I actually enjoyed working on staff there.....till I was unceremoniously let go, terminated fired. With no union to stick up for me, and I was never a union member so...... That's when I decided to started a business, but that's another story....

But the advice to document, document, document is good advice. If she even has to file legal action, documentation will certainly help. 

Here is the problem all employees have a contract even when the employer says there is none. The problem is employees don't feel they have the right to sign a contract which plays into the hands of the employer. None the less no one can work without either an implied contract or ideally a written one. Implied is when one is given verbally. No employee should except that because as clearly pointed out it is useless in covering duties and responsibilities. It unfortunately is the duty of the employee to get a contract that is written and fully agreed on. A copy should be kept by both parties. It really doesn't matter whether one is "hourly" or "salaried". Most employers have a "standard" contract they use for their salaried employee. They may not show it to an employee but its there. This is basic contract law. 

You know me ... I had a huge reply typed. But, I decided to delete it do to too much personal information and type another totally huge reply with less info. HEHE!

All I'll say Reece is, when I went to that long term unemployed training class a few months ago ... (remember the thread?) ... they said things like you are describing are the norm now and you pretty much have to get on your knees and take it because it's an employers market. Jobs that were once paying $20 an hour with full benefits are now only hiring people at $9 an hour as temps which means no benefits and they can fire you at any time. BTW ... they are sending me to that stupid freaking class again. I hope another fight doesn't break out. :(

The place I was at, they reneged on every single line of my contract. I kept politely asking for a review (which they put in my contract as happening every 12 months and as of 29 months I still hadn't had one), and was completely ignored. I talked to the VP of the company because I knew him pretty well and he said to just email the owner and it would be no problem. So I emailed asking if I could have a review and he replied, "No problem." Another week goes by and I email him again asking for a time frame and he replied, "I'm working on it." ... 3 days later I got fired. Then ... a year later I find out the guy was taking SS taxes out of my pay and never submitted them and I had to report him.

So 1 year and 4 months later ... still no job, people who are hiring in my industry won't hire me because I have too much experience and one place was only hiring minorities. I found that out when I applied for the job, I never heard back, and the job was re-posted a month later on a minority recruiting web site.

So I had my 3rd interview, by phone on Friday, after 16 months out of the 100 + resume's I've sent out. It's a job that pays 18 cents per mile to pick up RR workers on the line and take them back to their vehicles. On call 24/7, no benefits, no vacation, no 401k, have to work holidays. I said to the guy, "So let me see, pretty much the only benefit to this job is, I don't have to pay you to do it, right?" He laughed so hard he had to put the phone down and said he liked me and the job was mine if I wanted! Go figure!

The point I'm trying to make is ... tell your wife to keep her inner red head quiet unless she has a 100% for sure gig already lined up. Otherwise ... if she has to put out a resume and look for work, and if she's lucky enough to get someone interested in her, and they end up calling her previous employer ... she may be totally screwed. They're not supposed to say anything other than, "yes this person worked here" but we all know that's not what goes down. It's literally a dog eat dog world out there now and it's not like anything anyone has ever seen before.

You pretty much just have to go to work, and look at it like you are just taking their money and let what they say roll off your back. I know the next job I get, I'll screw over anybody and everything to keep it because, as nice as I would like to think I was in the past, nobody else is acting that way anymore and you'll get your head chopped off in an instant by someone else trying to save their job. It's happened to me in my last two jobs and it will not happen again.

Karyn

Beagle

 
*looking at you, Karyn.....

Why is it always me?  What have I done this time?  I didn't even read this thread, you can't prove anything.

I'm not sure but it might be the red hair.

We have not seen that type of rot up here...yet. 

The company I work for still believes in its people...and that is its strength.

When I was about age 30, I got a promotion at work. My job title changed and I was no longer required to punch a timeclock.

Then I noticed that on my paycheck it read "EXEMPT". Sounded like perhaps another perk, so I asked my boss what it meant.

He said it meant I was exempt from the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938, the law that banned child labor, established the concept of "minimum wage", and set the standard workweek to 40 hours, among other things.

It was considered a landmark sea change in America (pardon the mixed metaphor) at the time and was passed in response to truly horrible worker exploitation. It was considered revolutionary. Something that set the USA above the rest of the world. And I was exempt from it.

I soon found out what "exempt" meant. It meant they expected me to work 60 hours a week, to be on call 24x7, and to earn less money doing it. Eventually, I quit that job, only to land in another place where everybody was exempt. Turns out, it's common practice for employers to classify as many of their workers as possible under that category.

What's the manager doing with the wife's number anyway? Sorry to hear about that situation. People will take advantage of any situation. I haven't seen many situations like that where I work. But I don't think someone would be telling everyone about it. Good luck to your wife in avoiding that type of situation.