Should workers be compensated for answering emails, texts, calls on mobile when off-the-clock?
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I'd been meaning to find and post the online version of this for about a month; but since the story it's covering is moving at the speed of government it should still be current...
As long as there have been work-issued mobile devices, businesses have turned a blind eye — or an inconsistent one — to a thorny issue underlying the unspoken expectation for employees with those phones and laptops: always be on call. Now federal labor regulators may revise a standard governing what amount of time should be considered too insignificant to compensate outside scheduled work hours.
Of course by the time the feds get around to coming up with a standard for checking email/etc on your phone; it will probably already be superseded by direct neural messaging implants.
Did you ever see history portrayed as an old man with a wise brow and pulseless heart, waging all things in the balance of reason? Is not rather the genius of history like an eternal, imploring maiden, full of fire, with a burning heart and flaming soul, humanly warm and humanly beautiful? --Zachris Topelius Training a telescope on one’s own belly button will only reveal lint. You like that? You go right on staring at it. I prefer looking at galaxies. -- Sarah Hoyt
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I'd been meaning to find and post the online version of this for about a month; but since the story it's covering is moving at the speed of government it should still be current...
As long as there have been work-issued mobile devices, businesses have turned a blind eye — or an inconsistent one — to a thorny issue underlying the unspoken expectation for employees with those phones and laptops: always be on call. Now federal labor regulators may revise a standard governing what amount of time should be considered too insignificant to compensate outside scheduled work hours.
Of course by the time the feds get around to coming up with a standard for checking email/etc on your phone; it will probably already be superseded by direct neural messaging implants.
Did you ever see history portrayed as an old man with a wise brow and pulseless heart, waging all things in the balance of reason? Is not rather the genius of history like an eternal, imploring maiden, full of fire, with a burning heart and flaming soul, humanly warm and humanly beautiful? --Zachris Topelius Training a telescope on one’s own belly button will only reveal lint. You like that? You go right on staring at it. I prefer looking at galaxies. -- Sarah Hoyt
Dan Neely wrote:
direct neural messaging implants.
I hope not, usually the first 3-4 answers I think are a bit... unpolite.
GCS d--- s-/++ a- C++++ U+++ P- L- E-- W++ N++ o+ K- w+++ O? M-- V? PS+ PE- Y+ PGP t++ 5? X R++ tv-- b+ DI+++ D++ G e++>+++ h--- ++>+++ y+++* Weapons extension: ma- k++ F+2 X If you think 'goto' is evil, try writing an Assembly program without JMP. -- TNCaver "When you have eliminated the JavaScript, whatever remains must be an empty page." -- Mike Hankey "just eat it, eat it"."They're out to mold, better eat while you can" -- HobbyProggy
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Dan Neely wrote:
direct neural messaging implants.
I hope not, usually the first 3-4 answers I think are a bit... unpolite.
GCS d--- s-/++ a- C++++ U+++ P- L- E-- W++ N++ o+ K- w+++ O? M-- V? PS+ PE- Y+ PGP t++ 5? X R++ tv-- b+ DI+++ D++ G e++>+++ h--- ++>+++ y+++* Weapons extension: ma- k++ F+2 X If you think 'goto' is evil, try writing an Assembly program without JMP. -- TNCaver "When you have eliminated the JavaScript, whatever remains must be an empty page." -- Mike Hankey "just eat it, eat it"."They're out to mold, better eat while you can" -- HobbyProggy
You'd better start retraining your mind now. Just thinking that about your boss when he messages you at 3am when you're on vacation will get you fired after your implant is in.
Did you ever see history portrayed as an old man with a wise brow and pulseless heart, waging all things in the balance of reason? Is not rather the genius of history like an eternal, imploring maiden, full of fire, with a burning heart and flaming soul, humanly warm and humanly beautiful? --Zachris Topelius Training a telescope on one’s own belly button will only reveal lint. You like that? You go right on staring at it. I prefer looking at galaxies. -- Sarah Hoyt
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I'd been meaning to find and post the online version of this for about a month; but since the story it's covering is moving at the speed of government it should still be current...
As long as there have been work-issued mobile devices, businesses have turned a blind eye — or an inconsistent one — to a thorny issue underlying the unspoken expectation for employees with those phones and laptops: always be on call. Now federal labor regulators may revise a standard governing what amount of time should be considered too insignificant to compensate outside scheduled work hours.
Of course by the time the feds get around to coming up with a standard for checking email/etc on your phone; it will probably already be superseded by direct neural messaging implants.
Did you ever see history portrayed as an old man with a wise brow and pulseless heart, waging all things in the balance of reason? Is not rather the genius of history like an eternal, imploring maiden, full of fire, with a burning heart and flaming soul, humanly warm and humanly beautiful? --Zachris Topelius Training a telescope on one’s own belly button will only reveal lint. You like that? You go right on staring at it. I prefer looking at galaxies. -- Sarah Hoyt
If you want someone to work for you, you pay them.
Dan Neely wrote:
Now federal labor regulators may revise a standard governing what amount of time should be considered too insignificant to compensate outside scheduled work hours.
Government can dictate whatever it wants. If it is not paid, I will not work. If it is insignificant, it can wait until I am at work. Unpaid work is nonsense.
Bastard Programmer from Hell :suss: If you can't read my code, try converting it here[^][](X-Clacks-Overhead: GNU Terry Pratchett)
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If you want someone to work for you, you pay them.
Dan Neely wrote:
Now federal labor regulators may revise a standard governing what amount of time should be considered too insignificant to compensate outside scheduled work hours.
Government can dictate whatever it wants. If it is not paid, I will not work. If it is insignificant, it can wait until I am at work. Unpaid work is nonsense.
Bastard Programmer from Hell :suss: If you can't read my code, try converting it here[^][](X-Clacks-Overhead: GNU Terry Pratchett)
I agree completely. Anything done outside of normal business hours is only done under exceptional circumstances. But, if you remember the article from a few days ago about the average IT worker doing about 50 hours of work/week despite only half of us doing any extra hours (meaning the other half was averaging 60ish hours/week), a lot of our peers are either crazy/stupid or stuck in really crappy jobs. Their employers deserve good lartings; and the sooner it happens the easier it'll be for us to find a new job that doesn't suck if/when we end up needing them.
Did you ever see history portrayed as an old man with a wise brow and pulseless heart, waging all things in the balance of reason? Is not rather the genius of history like an eternal, imploring maiden, full of fire, with a burning heart and flaming soul, humanly warm and humanly beautiful? --Zachris Topelius Training a telescope on one’s own belly button will only reveal lint. You like that? You go right on staring at it. I prefer looking at galaxies. -- Sarah Hoyt
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You'd better start retraining your mind now. Just thinking that about your boss when he messages you at 3am when you're on vacation will get you fired after your implant is in.
Did you ever see history portrayed as an old man with a wise brow and pulseless heart, waging all things in the balance of reason? Is not rather the genius of history like an eternal, imploring maiden, full of fire, with a burning heart and flaming soul, humanly warm and humanly beautiful? --Zachris Topelius Training a telescope on one’s own belly button will only reveal lint. You like that? You go right on staring at it. I prefer looking at galaxies. -- Sarah Hoyt
If he knew what I was thinking he'd be pretty scared to fire me :mad:
GCS d--- s-/++ a- C++++ U+++ P- L- E-- W++ N++ o+ K- w+++ O? M-- V? PS+ PE- Y+ PGP t++ 5? X R++ tv-- b+ DI+++ D++ G e++>+++ h--- ++>+++ y+++* Weapons extension: ma- k++ F+2 X If you think 'goto' is evil, try writing an Assembly program without JMP. -- TNCaver "When you have eliminated the JavaScript, whatever remains must be an empty page." -- Mike Hankey "just eat it, eat it"."They're out to mold, better eat while you can" -- HobbyProggy
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I'd been meaning to find and post the online version of this for about a month; but since the story it's covering is moving at the speed of government it should still be current...
As long as there have been work-issued mobile devices, businesses have turned a blind eye — or an inconsistent one — to a thorny issue underlying the unspoken expectation for employees with those phones and laptops: always be on call. Now federal labor regulators may revise a standard governing what amount of time should be considered too insignificant to compensate outside scheduled work hours.
Of course by the time the feds get around to coming up with a standard for checking email/etc on your phone; it will probably already be superseded by direct neural messaging implants.
Did you ever see history portrayed as an old man with a wise brow and pulseless heart, waging all things in the balance of reason? Is not rather the genius of history like an eternal, imploring maiden, full of fire, with a burning heart and flaming soul, humanly warm and humanly beautiful? --Zachris Topelius Training a telescope on one’s own belly button will only reveal lint. You like that? You go right on staring at it. I prefer looking at galaxies. -- Sarah Hoyt
It should be in the job spec and remunerated, my SIL was on call 24/7 but they paid him an on call bonus. I don't think you are going to be able to regulate it. Start working on an ad blocker for neural implants, the next (or later) big thing.
Never underestimate the power of human stupidity RAH
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I'd been meaning to find and post the online version of this for about a month; but since the story it's covering is moving at the speed of government it should still be current...
As long as there have been work-issued mobile devices, businesses have turned a blind eye — or an inconsistent one — to a thorny issue underlying the unspoken expectation for employees with those phones and laptops: always be on call. Now federal labor regulators may revise a standard governing what amount of time should be considered too insignificant to compensate outside scheduled work hours.
Of course by the time the feds get around to coming up with a standard for checking email/etc on your phone; it will probably already be superseded by direct neural messaging implants.
Did you ever see history portrayed as an old man with a wise brow and pulseless heart, waging all things in the balance of reason? Is not rather the genius of history like an eternal, imploring maiden, full of fire, with a burning heart and flaming soul, humanly warm and humanly beautiful? --Zachris Topelius Training a telescope on one’s own belly button will only reveal lint. You like that? You go right on staring at it. I prefer looking at galaxies. -- Sarah Hoyt
There's a difference between getting paid to do a job, or getting paid to perform tasks. Doing a job to me means to take on responsibilities. Taking on responsibilities requires more flexibility and sometimes do things outside your normal working routine if the situation demands is. It doesn't mean you have to be available 24/7. It's being capable to judge the urgency of the situation yourself and then having the balls to tell people when they can reach you and when they can't. If you're paid for performing tasks, then you can demand to get paid extra for everything you do outside your normal working hours, but then the guy who does the job will decide when they call you; not the other way around. You decide which one is the better deal. :cool:
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I'd been meaning to find and post the online version of this for about a month; but since the story it's covering is moving at the speed of government it should still be current...
As long as there have been work-issued mobile devices, businesses have turned a blind eye — or an inconsistent one — to a thorny issue underlying the unspoken expectation for employees with those phones and laptops: always be on call. Now federal labor regulators may revise a standard governing what amount of time should be considered too insignificant to compensate outside scheduled work hours.
Of course by the time the feds get around to coming up with a standard for checking email/etc on your phone; it will probably already be superseded by direct neural messaging implants.
Did you ever see history portrayed as an old man with a wise brow and pulseless heart, waging all things in the balance of reason? Is not rather the genius of history like an eternal, imploring maiden, full of fire, with a burning heart and flaming soul, humanly warm and humanly beautiful? --Zachris Topelius Training a telescope on one’s own belly button will only reveal lint. You like that? You go right on staring at it. I prefer looking at galaxies. -- Sarah Hoyt
If on salary, then salary covers everything. If hourly, then you shouldn't be doing anything for your employer when off-the-clock and the employer can't expect you to. Some years back, my wife was on an hourly job (in a call center no less) and the workers were expected to be in the call center, logged in, and to have read their email before their shift began -- they couldn't read their email from home, but they were expected to do it on their own time. Their meager argument was that if you worked at McDonald's you would be expected to show up in your uniform; you wouldn't be paid to get dressed. A class-action suit was brought against the company, the company lost, my wife and others received a small compensation, the company was then swallowed by a larger company.