I'm gathering background information for a post about a former employee's lawsuit against Gannett that focuses on the company's overtime pay policy. Here's a question I'd like my readers to answer:
How many times
PER YEAR does your boss discuss -- in person, during staff meetings, or by e-mail -- Gannett's policy on paying for overtime? (For example, statements such as: "We pay employees for all the time they work.")
- 1-3 times
- 4-5
- 6-10
- More than 10
Please post your replies in the comments section, below. To e-mail confidentially, write jimhopkins[at]gmail[dot-com]; see Tipsters Anonymous Policy in the rail, upper right.
zero, In fact he says it's strictly forbidden. Of course. I'm still expected to get my job done.
ReplyDeleteAre you interested in former employee reports?
ReplyDeleteI'm an editor at Gannett dailies. I estimate our executive editor sends out an overtime e-mail at least once a month reminding managers and writers about making sure time cards are filled out correctly and making that exact statement: "We pay employees for all the time they work." So I say at least 12 times a year. And I know of no instance in which an employee has been denied overtime for the hours they have worked. Our executive editor is a stickler on this.
ReplyDeleteI worked at Gannett (TV station) for three years. In that time, overtime was only ever discussed as it related to photographers and engineers, who were paid by the hour (I think it was a union thing). The middle managers (chief photographer, chief engineer) were very open about the fact that if anyone incurred overtime, everyone would get in trouble.
ReplyDeleteIn all the other departments, the fact that you would have to work beyond your scheduled hours was a given. There was no overtime, and no comp time unless your specific boss gave it to you off the books.
Example: when I worked major storm coverage on a Saturday, my boss made a note that I was owed a comp day. A few weeks later, I said "I'd like to use my comp day next Friday". He said okay, and that was that.
That's one plus of working contract: I may not get time-and-a-half when I work overtime, but if I work a full weekend as part of a huge project, I get paid for those 16 hours.
I left employment with Gannett earlier this year, having been in a newsroom supervisory role the last 7 or 8 years. I made this point fairly often to the folks I worked with, partly because racking up OT is one way to remind upper management that the constant state of understaffing is not sustainable.
ReplyDeleteThat said, I have heard from colleagues at another Gannett site, where I worked briefly, that some employees there were basically expected to just suck it up, get the work done and lie about their hours.
About once a week or anytime anyone in the department claims more than 37.5 hours in a work week this is brought up. We are told that we can not work OT and we have to let them know ahead of time if we might get more than 37.5 hours in during a week. This is also the case for on call staff as well. Not sure how people are suposed to predict on call issues or breaking news or how they can even get their work and all the other work that has been piled on everyone from the staff they have let go over the past couple years. We seem to get harassed so much about it that people just do the work and write down 37.5 hours so they won't get bitched at for not getting the work done or for logging too much time.
ReplyDeleteWhen I was let go, I asked a lawyer if I had a case against Gannett. I wasn't getting paid for my hours worked over 40, I was salary. They had an unwritten policy that allowed "comp-time". This is highly illegal. We were even trained by Gannett (two on line videos...I have the certificate) not to allow any comp. They changed the name to "earned time". Normally, if there is such a thing, we were supposedly given a day for a day over 40 hours worked. We were told we had to use it before the end of the year. We were so short, it rarely happened. The lawyer was fired-up when I asked if I had a potential claim. As soon as he heard it was Gannett, he said it wouldn't be in my best interest. "They have deep pockets and will wear you out". From what he said I gathered that they would spend what ever it took to make sure that another past or present employee would never try and get a "win" or "dime" from the glass house. What a shame. I can't remember when, but out in Texas some years ago several TV "salaried" producers won a suit for non-paid overtime. At that time we were told no OT was allowed without mgt consent. This policy appied to both hourly and salary employees. But I can't remember if the Texas station was a Gannett owned property. I only know that Gannett gets away with plenty of wrong doing.
ReplyDeleteWhen I brought overtime and not being paid I was labeled a trouble maker. I was told this by an e-team member after I was laid off because of the economy. Yea right. They only talked about overtime up when there was a potential suit out or if we were extremely over budget. I know they would rather have jusifiable overtime than head count of employees. They hired several contracted free lancers to avoid overtime, benefits, and head count for the bean counters.
ReplyDeleteI haven't heard any talk about the company's policy on OT in years.
ReplyDeleteMy boss used to say that "we're not a sweatshop" but clearly we are at this point. The massive amount of unpaid OT worked by everyone is an open secret.
Who would be OCD enough to keep track of specific corporate policy reminders over the course of a year?
ReplyDeleteMy site has timeclocks and my department can use them. Every bit of overtime is approved ahead of time, (by the publisher!) and when they work more than 40 they get paid overtime. Hourly people have been reprimanded for punching out and staying or taking work home. They're paid for the time, but they do get warned.
There's no doubt some sites feel less compelled to follow the law, but seriously Jim - that's kind of a lame question to crowdsource. What kind of answer do you expect?
"In the past 12 months, my boss has reiterated company policies on freelancing 3 times, ethics twice, overtime once, the clean-the-breakroom-fridge schedule twelve times and the pro-flushing policy in six instances."
(In Cherry Hill the last is a little more specific as to location and reasoning behind the need to flush... or wash the floors)
3:28 a.m.: I am asking this question because, in the lawsuit I'm researching, a manager says that she reminded employees about the company's OT policy -- that this was often a subject of discussion.
ReplyDeleteWith this post, I'm testing whether that is true at Gannett worksites generally.
Many people in our newsroom work "off the clock." They are afraid if they put in for OT they'll lose their jobs or get a bad evaluation because they "can't manage their time."
ReplyDeleteGannett, for years, has said publicly that if people work over 37.5 hours or 40 hours, they're supposed to get OT. That message doesn't resonate with middle managers who are all too happy to look the other way so they too aren't criticized for not being able to cover this story or that assignment.
Where I was, if you needed to work OT, instead of paying you for the OT hours worked, they would tell you to come in later that very next day.
ReplyDeleteExample: If you worked 3 hours OT, the next day, instead of coming in at 9 A.M. you would come in at 12 Noon! Some people had so many OT hours accumulated and because of the specific job they had, the company broke down and paid them the OT because they badly needed them there to execute the work so that the work flow wouldn't get backed up!
SMH (Shaking My Head)
My site is very strange when it comes to OT. some departments have a strict no OT policy. While others roll with it. I think some managers allow it so they can say hey give me another PTE or FTE and all this OT will disappear... Others just don't want the headache. I also think it depends on the department, I mean what the heck is the night desk going to do when there is a shooting downtown or bad tornado that forces folks to stay late. Most sites should have Kronos now so the issue should be moot. You punch in at x and out at x:30, although there seems to be some disagreement at our site who is responsible for watching the total hours, employees or managers.
ReplyDeleteAs for the department I work in, it is quite civilized. There will be situations that require OT. So you work with it perhaps you can knock off earlier one day that pay period or maybe you just get paid for it. The work just gets done, nobody wants to spend more time at the office these days anyway.
I work in a department where unpaid OT has never been an issue. If you work OT, it gets paid and no hassles are given. (It does have to be approved but that's never been a problem.) So we don't really get any reminders about this.
ReplyDeleteHowever, a couple of months ago, we were all pulled into a meeting and they laid a few things out. One is that your timecard reflects your hours worked, so if you stay a half-hour over to finish something, it needs to be there. Breaks are not mandatory but allowed as long as the workload permits. Lunch is absolutely mandatory and you must leave your workstation for the entire lunch break. Things like that. We were told this came from corporate. It's the first time I've seen anything like that be handed down, so I figured someone was suing about the unpaid OT issue.
I recall an Incedent that happend a while ago. Management was clamping down on overtime. We were told in no uncertain terms the "there will be absolutly, positvely no more overtime!!"
ReplyDelete-:-Banging on table for emphasis.-:-
Right after this "ra-ra" session, the manager turned to someone and asked "Wanna work overtime tonight?"
(True story.)
I'm a former enployee who, I believe, was fired for refusing to work for free just one single time. I had done it for months, but decided one day that I would refuse. That was my last day with Gannett.
ReplyDeleteThe managing editor and EE said nothing about OT ever. Instead, the word about overtime needing prior approval came down to me two or three times via the editor. It was never mentioned in meetings that I recall. The editor, instead, talked to me individually.
The editor, EE and managing editor were all aware that I was putting in way more than 40 hours a week. Still, they bitched about deadlines and insisted that I meet them.
This was so different from the practices of my former non-Gannett employer. At that job, my editor and the managing editor had an awareness of just how long it took to do different kinds of stories. They INSISTED that all hours worked be paid. Their reasoning was that it was unfair to claim free work. Plus, they were decent people, unlike what I found in Gannett management.
Here is the link that explains Wage and Hour laws. Do you honestly believe employees, managers, directors and higher executives blantantly ignore these? What about all three Wage and Hour training and information sessions we've sat through? P.S. Comp time is illegal.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.dol.gov/whd/index.htm
"Do you honestly believe employees, managers, directors and higher executives blantantly ignore these?" - 8/11/2010 3:16 PM
ReplyDeleteThis is an industry that delivers its core product via "independent contractor wholesale merchants" who are told when they will deliver, how they will deliver, where they will deliver and how much they must charge their customers, despite buying wholesale. All of which is in blatant opposition to the IRS 20 question test on contractor vs. employee status.
Of course they will ignore the law. They do it, every single day.
An AME in Westchester told me that I was not allowed to put in for OT on my timecard. I was told to take the extra hours as comp time before the end of the week. This practice is illegal but what else would you suspect of the ethical House of Horrors that is TJN.
ReplyDeleteJournalism is a professional pursuit. Unions pushed it into a widget making, feed the beast pursuit. Some jobs may fit into wage and hour guidelines and be easily managed that way (cops), but covering a beat is hard to fit under a clock.
ReplyDeleteI can't remember whether I started drafting my story while I was at lunch or in the car way home. If there is a big story on my beat, I want it.
Being paid fairly is on the mind, and I think we can agree on a salary wage for beat coverage and move on. I got into this for the fun and the paycheck. The more they press the OT issue and watch my hours, the less flexibility I have to do what really is needed to cover this beat right.
I know a case where photographers have to leave on a tick of the clock rather than waiting until they get a shot they can be proud to have in the paper the next day. Get in, get out.
Give us a break and rethink managing the reporters who can balance life and work, and manage a beat.
Comp time has been so common at The Journal News that it's institutionalized. The company makes out, though, when a diligent worker can't find the time to take off!
ReplyDeleteI can't believe that someone could work for Gannett and wonder how its management could ignore wage/labor laws. That has been a way of life for decades!
Sounds like everyone needs to get together and file a class action suite about these types of labor law issues with Gannett. This is a perfect forum to force the monster to listen. It is easy for Gannett to fight and win a case against one person in one state but a case against hundreds or thousands of people across multiple states would be a lot harder to fight and win based on deep pockets alone.
ReplyDeleteOur production manager in NJ did not discuss OT too much in the last 2 or 3 years, but there never seemed to be any OT for some while some select individuals seemed to get it all the time. She is sneaky and nasty to most of her staff while kissing the arsses of those ranking higher than her. What a phoney baloney!
ReplyDelete""Anonymous 8/11/2010 10:14 AM said:
ReplyDelete"Where I was, if you needed to work OT, instead of paying you for the OT hours worked, they would tell you to come in later that very next day.
Example: If you worked 3 hours OT, the next day, instead of coming in at 9 A.M. you would come in at 12 Noon!"
I could be wrong but doesn't that company still owe those people/that person money?
Think about it!
If the person worked 3 hours OT and was told to come in the next day 3 hours later because they weren't paying OT, and as per the company policy when they do pay OT, The OT pay is time and a half, then that person got cheated out of 1 1/2 more hours or 1 1/2 more hours of pay! Hence, instead of coming in 3 hours later, they should have reported 4 1/2 hours later because OT is time and a half! ""
Oh boy............what a mess!!!!!!
For years now, we've had mandate of no overtime. If a manager feels overtime is needed to finish a project, they have to go up the ladder to get approval.
ReplyDeleteHR had a session with all of us to spell out the law concerning overtime - no lunch at desks, etc - for the hourly people. My staff knows not to ask for overtime, and it is up to them to make sure they leave at 5, regardless of what they're working on. I also let them take short lunches if they want to leave early on a particular day (baseball practices, etc) and if they get in a little late, they make up that time at lunch or at the end of the day.
I am salary, and my manager hasn't had any conversation with me about overtime, but it doesn't matter. I do not stay abnormally late anymore.