Much as I enjoy writing snarky posts about doofuses in upper management, I'd like Gannett Blog to accomplish something that benefits the company's employees. I'm beginning to think I ought to focus on whether management knows -- or at least strongly suspects -- that hourly employees aren't getting paid for all the time they work. My hunch: This has been a problem for years, but it's grown worse as technology lets staffers work more from home -- making it easier for management to look the other way.But maybe you have a better idea. Use this link to e-mail feedback. See Tipsters Anonymous Policy in the sidebar, upper right. Or leave a note in the comments section, below.
[Photo: Time Clocks USA]
Our Gannett paper doesn't like non-exempt people to work at home -- very little of it goes on -- because of the issue of tracking what time is actually spent working. There are plenty of people who might like to telecommute, but if they aren't supervisory folks, tht won't happen.
ReplyDeleteManagement knows, hell, Human Resources knows. For Example:
ReplyDeleteOne week I put down my 60 hours, the following Monday I was called into my manager's office. There I was told that my time card was being change to reflect the hours I was hired for. My manager then told me to take a few days "comp time", and "to work on my time management skills". I immediately went to HR director to ask what I could do. She told me that it was up to the manger of the department.
I checked Florida labor laws. This is illegal! However, this is a right to work state and I'm a single mom. I can't afford to lose my job right now.
How do start a union for the ad staff? I'm in TN.
ReplyDeleteI think the best evidence you can come up with is to ask if any of your readers who have worked at a Gannett paper in, oh, say the last 20 years, has ever been asked by a superviser how many hours they've worked this week or been told to go home because they were going to surpass their 40 hours.
ReplyDeleteI'm going to venture a guess and say no.
Supervisers will NEVER ask because it gives them plausible deniability, and tell you to go home when there's work to do? HA!
From the ethics policy: If you have any questions, or if you wish to report a violation or possible violations, please feel free to write, e-mail or call Barbara W. Wall, the Company’s Ethics Officer, at bwall@gannett.com (or 703-854-6000); or call 800-234-4206, the phone mail hotline number that has been established for this purpose (from the United Kingdom, the hotline number can be reached by dialing free 0-808-234-8157). There is no need to identify yourself, if you prefer not to do so. All reports will be treated in confidence except as necessary to conduct investigations.
ReplyDeleteOf course management knows. My boss came back from management training a couple of years ago and said, "You've got to stop working more than 40 hours. When you hit 40, just set everything down and go home." I replied, "Okay, that will be a 10 AM tomorrow, and X, Y, and Z will not get done this week." Of course, there was no answer for that.
ReplyDelete