Half hour a day wasted going through security at work and not paid

[werepossum]

There are always interesting questions when it comes to employee vs employer and when and not to pay. My employer will send people from their homes to a customer site (in the mornings) and start charging the customer from the time that the employee leaves the house. However, he will not start paying the employee until the same amount of time that it takes the employee to normally arrive at the office has elapsed. Doesn't quite seem fair to me (I'm so close to the office that it really doesn't effect me and I'm salary anyway).

SNIP

I've been there as well. Sometimes we'd get an hourly billed rush job and I'd do it on unpaid overtime. Being salary, I get paid nothing while the customer is being billed not only hourly but time and a half.

 

[crashtech]

Are private corporations legally entitled to detain an employee without any evidence of wrongdoing, e.g. camera footage or eyewitness? It's one thing for a law enforcement entity to detain you on the way into a courthouse, another for an employer to detain you on your way off the job. The stakes are a lot different, too.

 

[Pantoot]

I have often heard that flight attendants on planes are paid from door close to door open, I wonder if they are next in line to file suit.

 

[Engineer]

I've been there as well. Sometimes we'd get an hourly billed rush job and I'd do it on unpaid overtime. Being salary, I get paid nothing while the customer is being billed not only hourly but time and a half.

That part I understand as that's part of being salary. I'm talking about hourly employees that are sent out on a job and the customer being billed from the time the employee leaves the house. The employee doesn't get paid anything until the same amount of time elapses that he would normally drive to work.

Example: Employee A takes an hour to drive to work. He gets called out the next day and leaves at 6:00am. The customer is billed from 6:00am but the employee doesn't get paid until 7:00am because that's how long it normally takes him to get to work (even if he is on the job site and already working). I think that's bullshit (and illegal) but I've seen it time and time again. People put up with it because of the job market. Employers have had the upper hand for years (if not decades). I can only hope the tide is really turning now (but I somehow doubt it).

 

[Engineer]

Are private corporations legally entitled to detain an employee without any evidence of wrongdoing, e.g. camera footage or eyewitness? It's one thing for a law enforcement entity to detain you on the way into a courthouse, another for an employer to detain you on your way off the job. The stakes are a lot different, too.

I thought about 'illegal search and seizure' earlier but wasn't sure if it can apply here or not. I suppose that if the employee submits to it, it's not illegal.

 

[crashtech]

As a condition of employment? Well, maybe. So if an employee quits while waiting in line to leave, can they walk past security?

 

[Jhhnn]

I have often heard that flight attendants on planes are paid from door close to door open, I wonder if they are next in line to file suit.

Airline personnel cut in at the head of the line last time I was at the airport. The TSA said "These folks need to go first"- I was right there- nobody argued.

 

[cubby1223]

I'm sure all the Rich Republican Pro Corporate Thugs in here side with Amazon.

All the cheap people who hate brick and mortar stores who flock to Amazon for all their purchases, scour the hot deals forms for every penny of savings they can get, side with Amazon.

Devoted Amazon consumers can be found everywhere.

 

[Engineer]

All the cheap people who hate brick and mortar stores who flock to Amazon for all their purchases, scour the hot deals forms for every penny of savings they can get, side with Amazon.

Looking for a deal and siding with Amazon (if that's even the case as this may be third party) are mutually exclusive given the light that most people don't know anything about this suit or the final decision of it (I had no clue about this but have not sided with anyone - yet).

 

[Jhhnn]

All the cheap people who hate brick and mortar stores who flock to Amazon for all their purchases, scour the hot deals forms for every penny of savings they can get, side with Amazon.

Devoted Amazon consumers can be found everywhere.

I buy a fair amount of stuff from Amazon, not because it's cheap but because it's convenient.

I side with the workers, and I do not envy them their jobs or wages.

 

[cubby1223]

I buy a fair amount of stuff from Amazon, not because it's cheap but because it's convenient.

I side with the workers, and I do not envy them their jobs or wages.

Stand by the workers' side with your voice. Stand by Amazon's side with your dollars.

 

[cubby1223]

Looking for a deal and siding with Amazon (if that's even the case as this may be third party) are mutually exclusive given the light that most people don't know anything about this suit or the final decision of it (I had no clue about this but have not sided with anyone - yet).

Worker abuses at Amazon fulfillment centers has been documented in the past. Americans by large don't care. But what differs from the OP's assessment is it's not just rich people, people of all social and economic standing happily turn a blind eye for the benefit of their own personal savings and convenience.

 

[Newell Steamer]

If you are on the property and clocked in - you get paid. I am not sure why someone should be docked, because of the company's own process.

It's like docking someone's pay for when they boot a PC that is loaded with bloat ware and antiquated in horsepower - dock them 15 min in the morning booting up and then in the afternoon for shutting down.

These are operational issues, that management/owners have allowed to occur - I am not sure why the employee should penalized.

Give me the proper tools and/or allow me to do my job. Not much more to it.

Now, if the employee has purposely prolonged something, then yes - reprimand away. But, if it is because management can't get it's head out of it's behind to see the reality of the situation - no way.

 

[MongGrel]

If it is a job requirement and is their time, they should be getting paid.

 

[Pantoot]

Airline personnel cut in at the head of the line last time I was at the airport. The TSA said "These folks need to go first"- I was right there- nobody argued.

True, but it is usually at least 30 minutes between when the flight attendants board and the door shuts. And that's each leg. I bet it adds up to way more than 30 mins/day that these employees are complaining about.

 

[glenn1]

I agree with those who say anything beyond a certain length of time should be compensated. Whether that's 1 minute, 2, 5 , or whatever I'll let lawmakers and courts decide but think 30 is excessive.

 

[sportage]

As long as you are ON SITE and not clocked out for break or lunch, you should be paid.
But this isn't anything new for companies to pull this crap.
I know a company that demanded employees attend meetings before work or after work, off the clock. They were promptly sued in class action and lost to the tune of $26 million in fines.

The sad thing is where a company would screw a worker out of 30 minutes of pay, just to later be fined millions in court.
There you have the mindset of corporate America.
Just pay the damn kid his $6 dollars Amazon....

 

[JEDIYoda]

Replace "going through security" with "stuck in traffic on the way to work".... should employers have to pay for those stuck in traffic as well?

I can see both sides of this argument.

That's is plain stupid! The difference being they are at work and trying to get out of work!

Going to work does not imply you have reached work and clocked it...I cannot see the other side of the argument! It is obvious they are being detained!

 

[JEDIYoda]

Like I said, I can see either side of it though, especially in light of the prior scotus rulings.

yeah throw SCOTUS in there....what exact ruling brianiac??

 

[Jhhnn]

Stand by the workers' side with your voice. Stand by Amazon's side with your dollars.

If it weren't for my dollars & those of a lot of other people, those jobs wouldn't exist.

Maybe I should shop at Kmart, Walmart or Target because those people are better paid?

I rather doubt that they are.

 

[Jhhnn]

True, but it is usually at least 30 minutes between when the flight attendants board and the door shuts. And that's each leg. I bet it adds up to way more than 30 mins/day that these employees are complaining about.

You have not shown that crews are not compensated for that time.

I suspect that they are. It's like the restaurant business. Prep time counts.

 

[Jhhnn]

My former employer did not compensate employees until they had put in 15 minutes extra. That held up through arbitration, for what it's worth.

 

[Pantoot]

You have not shown that crews are not compensated for that time.

I suspect that they are. It's like the restaurant business. Prep time counts.

I didn't realize I was under cross. No, it's not like the restaurant business, at least for some airlines.
Huffpo

Low Pay -- Now here's where it gets tricky. Yes, generally speaking, the starting pay for a flight attendant is low. And, I'm not just saying low... I mean... very low. Regional airlines usually make less than legacy airlines (or the majors) but even the legacies start out flight attendants around $18-20 per flight hour (every hour the door is closed). Flight attendants are not paid during boarding, deplaning, or delays. Some will argue that their "per diem" (an hourly rate that the airline pays to help in covering the cost of eating and entertainment on the road) counts as pay. But, for the most part, that per diem payment is $2 an hour. I don't know about you, but I wouldn't call $2/hr getting "paid."

Indeed.com

The hours are from when the door closes till it opens. 1 hour prior showtime, boarding and delays with the door open are unpaid. That's still time you are present at work soooo....you see how the hours differ from a typical job. This is how they measure the hours, door open to shut. If you figure all the down time it equals about a $10/hr job for the first couple years. But you get tax free per diem round the clock on a trip and annual guaranteed raises.

 

[Fayd]

Amazon will lose. I remember a case regarding costco employees having to wait at the door after the store was closed because no manager was available to let them out. They lost the case and were forced to pay employees if they have to wait more than a specified time.

Corporate apologists will disagree though.

pretty sure that was k-mart, not costco. costco always has a manager on-site, and doesn't seem to dick around with their employees like that.

 

[ivwshane]

pretty sure that was k-mart, not costco. costco always has a manager on-site, and doesn't seem to dick around with their employees like that.

No, it was costco.
http://www.law360.com/articles/206895/costco-workers-ot-false-imprisonment-suit-trimmed