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  1. #1
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    Jan 2016
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    Default Treating Hourly Employees Like On-Call Employees

    My question involves labor and employment law for the state of: Mississippi

    Looking for advice on a current situation at work. I work at a warehouse in the supply chain of a major nationwide retail operation. My manager doesn't post a weekly work schedule. He usually texts everyone in my department anywhere from 5-8 pm in the evening telling us what time to be at work. We usually have to go to work at 4 or 5 in the morning. About once a month he'll text us in the evening to be at work at 4 or 5 am and then about 30 minutes before our shift starts he texts everyone and says that everyone is off work for the day.

    One issue is that if we have to be at work at 4 am, I have to get up at 2:00-2:30 am to be there on time. If he texts us at 8 pm, that doesn't leave much time for sleep. Not to mention, IMO he shouldn't be contacting employees daily on their personal time. I could see if there was some kind of emergency or fluke like, the building was on fire. But it seems like he's treating us like we're "on call" or something.

    The second and main issue though is that most of us live 20-40 minutes drive away from work. If he texts us to come to work at 5am and I get up at 3:15 am, get ready for work, and leave at 4:15 and arrive at work at 4:50. Then a few minutes later when I go to clock in, the manager says that he texted everyone not to come to work. I look at my phone and he sent a text at 4:30. I'm half way to work at 4:30.

    So if he tells me to be at work at 5am and I show up to work at 5am, do they have to pay me some sort of minimum hourly wage?

    If not, is there some kind of minimum notice that he should be required to give. Getting up at 3am, getting ready for work, driving an hour round trip, wasting my gas, and wasting my time after being told to come to work at a certain time the night before, then being paid nothing really sucks. This could be wrong, but have heard that if you show up for work that an employer has to pay you a certain amount of hours. Also, sometimes he'll text us the night before to come in at say 5am and then at 4:30(again, when I'm already half way to work)send a text saying to come in at 6am. So I'm stuck sitting there for an hour not being paid.

    I'm not sure if there are any laws that prohibit this kind of practice. However, even if not, it seems highly unprofessional, unethical, and poor management and treatment of employees. Should I report this to the corporate employee hotline? If so, should I do it anonymously, even though they will probably know who reported it? How would you guys proceed in this situation?

  2. #2
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    Jan 2015
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    Default Re: Treating Hourly Employees Like on Call Employees

    I would begin by realizing that there is no real prohibition of doing this as you describe, but I agree that it sounds very inefficient and miserably hard on the workers. You may want to discuss this situation with the federal wage and hour department in your area. They can tell you exactly what is required that the employer provide legally. Most places will give you some sort of a fixed schedule and sometimes they'll provide a certain amount of "show up pay" but it is a practice, not a legal requirement. Obviously what your supervisor is doing is staffing for the next day based on what shipments come in. And they probably love him at corporate because he is keeping down his labor costs. However, it is a very poor way to deal with employees and it will lead them to great unhappiness. They will lose good employees, as they will quit as soon as they are able and go elsewhere. Really, this is your only alternative.

    You mention a lot of things about how uncomfortable this is for you, how you need your sleep, how unethical you feel that it is. These are all personal issues and it is impossible to overstate how little these personal issues concern your employer. In your fair state, you have the right to quit and find a job where you are treated better. Essentially that is the only real right you have, other than the EEOC issues and the OSHA issues (safe workplace.) If you quit your job because of this situation and file for unemployment benefits, you will have very little chance of approval.

    But the one thing they would ask you is "What did you do to try to resolve the situation before quitting?" And that is one thing you should consider. I would discuss your situation with the supervisor, and while being very willing to work with him, I would point out the difficulty that is caused by your lack of a fixed schedule, and how this is a serious issue that you'd like to let him know you are dealing with. Do this without anger or idle threats, do this in a very professional way, as in "I know you understand that I like my work and that you understand I am very reliable and good at what we do. I will always do what is asked of me, however....." Keep in mind that even this small attempt to communicate with the supervisor about your issues with the work scheduling may cause him to put you on his ($*% list and cause him to cut your hours more, call you in less, give you less notice of no work, etc. He's doing it because he can.

    As for calling the corporate employee hotline, if you are going to do this, right now, stop discussing the scheduling problems and issues with your co- workers. NOW. Before you make any calls. Then, if you do decide to make the call, DO NOT tell anyone you have made the call, brag about it or even discuss it in any way. You do not have to tell them who you are, but you shouldn't be the person everyone knows made the call or complaint unless you really want to cut your own throat with the supervisor. Do not be perceived as the most vocal Norma Rae figure in the work group, if you follow my meaning.

    Which leads to the next issue. The thing that a Mississippi employer fears the worst in the whole world is unionization. You might mention that you have overheard your co workers talking, and that many of your co workers are so unhappy with the working conditions that you're afraid somebody will contact somebody about trying to get in a union so that the warehouse people will have some relief from this terrible scheduling practice. Don't threaten anyone on the corporate hot line, but do see if you can work unionization into the discussion. Above all, if you are doing this, do not give them your name, and do everything in your power to keep your co workers from finding out that you have made such a call or you will find yourself legally but quickly terminated for some reason or another.

    Your best alternative is to find another job. I do understand that in your state, particularly in the rural areas, where you are traveling a long way to work, this is probably the only job around that pays as well as this. But now, while you are still working, and without complaining high and low about this job you now have, start searching for other things.

    Unfortunately these warehouses are notorious for being "burn out jobs" where they pay pretty well, but they work you to death and treat you very poorly, and figure that they'll make you miserable enough to quit and replace you with another warm body until they have eaten up the whole workforce in that area. At which time they'll set up another cheap metal building workplace in another area and move on. Since immigrants tend to accept bad working conditions for longer periods of time than less desperate workers, they usually end up with large immigrant workforces who don't complain much. Its the reality of the work world in your state, and your only real recourse is that you improve your qualifications and move on personally to something where you are treated better.

  3. #3
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    Jan 2016
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    Default Re: Treating Hourly Employees Like on Call Employees

    You know, I look around and it's bewildering to me. Said manager lets certain people(females) clock in 20-30 minutes early and sit in the break room and watch tv until their shift starts, when the rule is that you can only clock in 5 minutes early. Let's people(again females) take 30-40 minute breaks on the clock, when it's only supposed to be 15 minutes. Lets people talk on their cell phones on the warehouse floor, when they have expicitly had 2-3 facility meetings telling people that it's grounds for termination since it's a safety issue. I feel that if I were do to these things that I would be written up and/or terminated.

    He also makes all the men do the heavy more physical work while the women do nothing but easy work. When the EEOC notice on the wall actually says that they don't hire, promote, or assign job duties based on the list of protected classes. It seems to me that assigning work based on sex/gender would be some kind of violation. We all have the same job title, hiring qualifications/requirements, and pay scale. How is making all the males do the harder more demanding work any different than saying all black people, Jewish people, or homosexual people have to do the harder work? I was under the assumption that all protected classes were protected equally. Seems like some kind of violation of the EEOC to me. Maybe you're right. Maybe I just need to find a different job and one day just stop showing up.

  4. #4
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    Jan 2015
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    Default Re: Treating Hourly Employees Like on Call Employees

    You are still personalizing this situation because it is a bad one for you personally. This is not about the whole company, this is just about a particular manager in YOUR particular work group who you think is favoring the women more than he's favoring the men. To have a real valid EEOC complaint, it needs to be quite a lot bigger than this, and you would need to have informed your higher ups, above him, and attempted to resolve the situation from within before you could even dream of taking it outside the company.

    If that hasn't happened yet, and you filed an EEOC grievance, all they would have to say, if there was any inquiry about it, is that they had no idea there was such a problem, and if they had been informed, they would have investigated. And frankly, there doesn't sound at all like there is enough of a persistent pattern of discrimination on the basis of sex to support any sort of EEOC complaint. But if you'd like to pursue this, the first thing you would need to do is take your complaints higher up the chain within the organization.

    How much good do you think that being the justice seeker complaint maker and cause supporter in this situation is doing you in the workplace? Aside from that, I'd be willing to bet it is creating all sorts of resentment, worry and havoc in your own life outside work. I bet your family and friends know all about this crappy work situation, and that you talk about it and think about it a lot. Start looking for another job. Most people are really surprised by just how few rights and protections they have in the workplace until it happens to them, but please do not let it destroy a minute of your happiness outside work. Find a different place and move on.

  5. #5
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    Default Re: Treating Hourly Employees Like on Call Employees

    I completely agree that your boss is handling things poorly. Being a bad manager is not illegal. Mississippi does not require any reporting pay. Some states do, but Federal law doesn't and Mississippi law doesn't. No state requires any specific notice time for scheduling. There is no law anywhere in the US that prohibits "treating employees like on-call".

    Feel free to report your concerns to corporate. They may care. (I hope they would, but one never knows.) But hard as it is to accept, the law does not.

  6. #6
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    Default Re: Treating Hourly Employees Like on Call Employees

    Quote Quoting comment/ator
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    And frankly, there doesn't sound at all like there is enough of a persistent pattern of discrimination on the basis of sex to support any sort of EEOC complaint.
    Thanks for your replies. As far as a persistent pattern, it's been going on for a long long time on a daily basis. Simply put, there are 10-11 employees in the department 2-3 are singled out and made to do 95% of the heavy lifting while the others rarely have to do any. I've had 2 MRIs and 2 xrays on my lower back and hip in the past 6 months. I'm not complaining about doing heavy lifting. That's my job. However, 2-3 people shouldn't have to get worked to a pulp to accommodate someone of the opposite sex. Anyhow, it seems that there is nothing that I can do about any of this. Guess, I'll just find a new job or quit. Shame that I wasted almost 9 years of my time. Thanks for your input, I appreciate it.

  7. #7
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    Default Re: Treating Hourly Employees Like on Call Employees

    But it's okay for smaller, lighter females who through basic biology may not have the ability to do the heavy lifting to be assigned those jobs?

    Did you ever identify yourself as disabled and request accommodation?

  8. #8
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    Default Re: Treating Hourly Employees Like on Call Employees

    Quote Quoting lucyfurr6
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    . When the EEOC notice on the wall actually says that they don't hire, promote, or assign job duties based on the list of protected classes. It seems to me that assigning work based on sex/gender would be some kind of violationp.
    they are more likely assigning job tasks by employee abilities. Unless you have she hulk working there, chances are the men are more physically capable than the women. There is nothing illegal about assigning a heavy lifting job to a muscular person rather than a person less strong and more likely to not be able to perform the work or maybe even be injured due to the lack of strength.


    While the situation should not be ignored entirely, there are reasons that are allowed within the law for exactly what you describe to happen.

  9. #9
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    Jan 2016
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    Default Re: Treating Hourly Employees Like on Call Employees

    Quote Quoting cbg
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    But it's okay for smaller, lighter females who through basic biology may not have the ability to do the heavy lifting to be assigned those jobs?

    Did you ever identify yourself as disabled and request accommodation?
    Quote Quoting jk
    View Post
    they are more likely assigning job tasks by employee abilities. Unless you have she hulk working there, chances are the men are more physically capable than the women. There is nothing illegal about assigning a heavy lifting job to a muscular person rather than a person less strong and more likely to not be able to perform the work or maybe even be injured due to the lack of strength.


    While the situation should not be ignored entirely, there are reasons that are allowed within the law for exactly what you describe to happen.
    I do understand the points that both you you are making. However, when the company posts this job listing and requirements for said job at different locations nationwide. It clearly lists one of the requirements as "Ability to lift a minimum of 70 pounds regularly". First off, according to their own requirements, these people aren't qualified for the job. Second, why on earth would someone hire 75% middle aged to older women for a job like this and work 2-3 men into the ground. I know you cannot discriminate and not hire women for a position like this. However, if you apply for and accept a job knowing the requirements expected, you should be held accountable for those requirements. It just doesn't make sense. As far as being injured due to lack of strength, again don't hire people that aren't qualified. In fact I think that it's less of a strength issue and more of a volume issue. 10 people lift 30x50lb boxes each or 2 people lift 150x50lb boxes each. Who's more likely to have issues as time goes on? Anyhow, judging by the replies, it's a moot point I guess.

  10. #10
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    Default Re: Treating Hourly Employees Like on Call Employees

    lucyfurr6;934949I do understand the points that both you you are making. However, when the company posts this job listing and requirements for said job at different locations nationwide. It clearly lists one of the requirements as "Ability to lift a minimum of 70 pounds regularly". First off, according to their own requirements, these people aren't qualified for the job. Second, why on earth would someone hire 75% middle aged to older women for a job like this and work 2-3 men into the ground
    to be honest I have no idea what you are even talking about now.
    . I know you cannot discriminate and not hire women for a position like this.
    unless a qualified female applies, you absolutely can. I don't know what kind of women you hang around with but not many of the gals I know would qualify for that position.
    However, if you apply for and accept a job knowing the requirements expected, you should be held accountable for those requirements.
    either that or be disqualified from the position.
    As far as being injured due to lack of strength, again don't hire people that aren't qualified.
    that was eactly my point and why you can have a situation where only men are performing that work.
    10 people lift 30x50lb boxes each or 2 people lift 150x50lb boxes each. Who's more likely to have issues as time goes on? Anyhow, judging by the replies, it's a moot point I guess.
    that is irrelevant. It appears you are attempting to determine how the employer runs their business. That is not within your pay grade.

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