  
|
|
|
|
|
     |
|
    |
The Questions and The Answers Listing
|
|||
|
Hired Help: With what is likely to be few exceptions, there are two types of EMS agencies: those that have paid staff and those that will, in the fairly near future, have paid staff. So, if you have staff, or think you will need staff, you ought to be sure that you are in compliance with the Wage and Hour Laws. That's why this discussion will talk about the Labor Laws, specifically the Federal Labor Laws. There are state laws in many cases, but there is not enough time or space to cover them all. In addition, the state laws will never be more lenient that the Federal, though they may be more restrictive (it's a principle generally referred to as Federal Supremacy, worth being aware of but lets not get off track). So, to begin our discussion, lets take the following quiz on what is and is not covered by the Wage and Hour Laws. Question 1: Our agency pays way over minimum wage and we worked out a pay plan with our employees that they really like. Why should we worry about compliance with the Wage and Hour Laws? Answer: First of all, don't be sure you are paying minimum wage unless you are sure you know how to figure out what you are really paying. But even at that, the Wage and Hour Division of the Department of Labor could not care less whether your employees like the way they get paid. Their only issue is whether the way you pay them complies with the law, even if it actually is not in the employees' apparent best interest. However, I would remind you that even if your employees like it now, they may not like it later, or at least one of them might not, and if they change their mind you may well regret having been Mr. Nice Guy.
Question 2: Do the Wage and Hour Laws set the amount of money I have to pay people for every hour worked? Answer: No. For the most part, how much you pay employees for the number of hours they work up to some agreed upon number is established by the Minimum Wage Law that Congress fools with every time some citizen advocacy group whines about how terrible things are in America. Further, people can be paid by the hour, by the day, and by the week, sometimes even longer periods. But they must be making more than the minimum wage for every hour they work up to the first 40 hours they work every week, unless they are on a salary, which gets a little more confusing depending on what you mean by salary. We will try to sort this out for you as best we can in a later issue. For now, you need to understand that the Wage and Hour Laws focus on what the basic unit of pay is, what is generally called the hourly or regular rate, and how you figure out what amount is due to an employee based on what they are doing and how many hours they are doing it. In other words, straight time and overtime.
Question 3: Do the Wage and Hour Laws establish any rules regarding vacations, sick time, and holidays, including federal holidays? Answer: No. They do address issues such as meals, sleep time, etc. These can be thorny issues with staff, if you allow them to be. We will examine briefly what the laws say you can and can’t do. Then we will talk about why you should or, better yet, should not do it.
Question 4: Is everyone covered by the Wage and Hour Laws? Answer: Yes, and no. Everyone is addressed in the Wage and Hour Law. For people who work for a living, like your one each EMS provider, dispatcher, clerk, etc., you should figure that everyone is subject to the Wage and Hour Laws. Don't waste your time reading about exemptions for fruit farmers who only employees migrant labor during August on even years. It isn't worth the effort. If you can't afford to comply with the Wage and Hour Laws, and have to try to think up some creative (insert illegal) way to get around them, then you have far more serious financial problems that you are willing to admit. Then there are a few groups of employees who are specifically not covered by wage and hour. Of the four classes cited, only the administrative exception is of any use in an EMS agency (forget the "professional" exemption- it doesn't work for nurses so it sure isn't going to work for EMT's and Paramedics). And the administrative exemption is based on what they do and how often they do it, not the catchy title you give them, the color of their shirt or the bars and bugles on their epilates. This is probably the most abused segment of the Wage and Hour Laws. Question 5: If I am in violation, then my employees will know it if I change the policy and they will demand back pay. So, isn't it safer to just see if I get caught? The worst they can do is make me fix the problem and move on? Answer: Do the math. You change the policy, stating that it is part of a review of wage and hour policies. Most employees end up better off in the long run, and often they just move on, even though they know or at least suspect that something is rotten in Denmark. Even if they question the decision, or demand back pay, you can make an offer to settle any claim and try to work things out. Then you will want to hear your second option. The penalty for violation of the Wage and Hour Laws is very specific. Two years back pay, or three years if they can show that you knew or should have known you were breaking the law, and if you are in management this is not all that hard to prove. Then the employees also collect an equal amount as liquidated damages. Then there are civil penalties of $10,000, or six months in jail, or both. And if you take any action against an employee who files a claim that you violated this law, then you have violated another section of the law, and you will end up back in court all over again. Question 6: We have people who get paid and volunteer. Any problem? Answer: More than you know and more than we can get into right now. But we will revisit this crucial issue later. Remember this name; Garcia. So, there we have it. A place to start. Questions? Try to keep them fairly general, but in truth you are not alone- your problems are the same as someone else's. Happy managing.
|
||||
|
Created by |
