PAY Cuts!

[rudy]

Companies pay unemployment insurance for each employee while they are employed. At the end of the year, if the money is not used (i.e. the employee is still employed), the company gets it's money back. It's in the company's best interest to do what they can to avoid the former employee from getting a payout.

A co-worker of mine was told her position was going to be eliminated, but she had the option of still working for the company. They offered her a new job, which was basically a big demotion and much less pay. On top of that, she would be working a 12-hour shift, instead of an 8-hour one.

She refused. She got no severance package since they said it was like she had quit because they had given her an option to work. She was told that she would not get unemployment since she had quit. She applied for it anyway, and ended up getting it. She told me that the company didn't contest it, so it all went through. I don't know if it was a company oversight or if someone from the company was just trying to do the right thing.

Check out this link:

Texas Workforce Commission Mass Claims Process

It seems that even if you're a "temporary layoff", you still can file a claim.

 

[maryannette]

I don't usually agree with taking this route, but it seems warranted in this case...

I don't normally agree with legal action, either, but I have contacted lawyers twice in the past when I felt that I had really been screwed by employers. Neither resulted in anything more than talk, but if employers are allowed to manipulate the system to get around the intent of laws that protect employees, they deserve whatever a lawyer can give them.

Sorry to hear about your bad luck, NC, and anyone else who is in similar situation. I haven't looked at the specific opportunities recently, but check out www.usajobs.gov

Good luck.

 

[TXengrChickPE]

The way I understand it, I will get the money regardless of whether it's temporary or permanent. The problem is that our stories don't match, which means that the claim can't be processed until everyone has the same boxes checked. It's stupid, but I guess that's just the way bureaucracy works.

 

[EM_PS]

The way I understand it, I will get the money regardless of whether it's temporary or permanent. The problem is that our stories don't match, which means that the claim can't be processed until everyone has the same boxes checked. It's stupid, but I guess that's just the way bureaucracy works.

Yes, you will - Hang in there TX

My exp w/ lawyers is that they're pretty worthless (unless you've killed somebody or something) in these matters. They'll rack up a big bill while telling you info you already know, then tell you that their hands are tied on going forward. . .or that they could pursue it, but the outcome could likely take years, blah blah blah, how much do you want to spend to get xx$$ back, etc. In this case, you're legally entitled to compensation, so it pretty much is incumbent on whatever agency (probably a state agency) you deal w/ for unemploy bennies to get the crap worked out. There is no gray area here, like w/ a workman's comp case or something.

Good luck!

 

[wilheldp_PE]

My company has been relatively unaffected by the downturn, but there are some little annoying things going on here. The put a freeze on salary increases just as a precautionary measure in case the recession drags on for years. I also got called down to the President's office yesterday because he said that I wasn't working enough overtime. He based this solely on the timecard reports that showed other engineers working up to 37% overtime and me working none. I don't understand why my ability to do my job in 40 hours/week and others inability to do so, should reflect poorly on me. I am on two of the most time-demanding projects we currently have in house, yet I seem to be able to handle the workload without eating into my personal time. I know for a fact that there are a few hourly employees here that get paid overtime that do nothing during regular hours, then work nights and weekends at time and a half. It pisses me off that my productivity is being compared to theirs.

 

[chaosiscash]

My company has been relatively unaffected by the downturn, but there are some little annoying things going on here. The put a freeze on salary increases just as a precautionary measure in case the recession drags on for years. I also got called down to the President's office yesterday because he said that I wasn't working enough overtime. He based this solely on the timecard reports that showed other engineers working up to 37% overtime and me working none. I don't understand why my ability to do my job in 40 hours/week and others inability to do so, should reflect poorly on me. I am on two of the most time-demanding projects we currently have in house, yet I seem to be able to handle the workload without eating into my personal time. I know for a fact that there are a few hourly employees here that get paid overtime that do nothing during regular hours, then work nights and weekends at time and a half. It pisses me off that my productivity is being compared to theirs.

You're at an A/E, right? Do you get paid overtime? (straight-time or time and a half) Because if you don't (you should leave and) the reason your Pres wants you to work more overtime is because if you do, he can bill the client your full rate for your time and then use that money to offset overhead costs, since he doesn't have to pay you. If you do get paid overtime and the jobs you're on are time and materials, he probably wants to increase revenue. If the job is fixed price, then he's nuts if he wants you to work more even though you're getting things done.

 

[wilheldp_PE]

You're at an A/E, right? Do you get paid overtime? (straight-time or time and a half) Because if you don't (you should leave and) the reason your Pres wants you to work more overtime is because if you do, he can bill the client your full rate for your time and then use that money to offset overhead costs, since he doesn't have to pay you. If you do get paid overtime and the jobs you're on are time and materials, he probably wants to increase revenue. If the job is fixed price, then he's nuts if he wants you to work more even though you're getting things done.

Yes, I'm at an A/E, and no, I don't get paid overtime. There are a few designers that get paid time and a half, but none of the salaried people get paid overtime. My boss said at our staff meeting on Monday that the President wanted everybody working at least 10% overtime. The first thing that popped into my head was "Well, I want to get paid at least 10% more for that work, but we don't always get what we want." I'm going along with it for now, mainly since I haven't really been here long enough to feel comfortable rocking the boat. But I will put up with this forced overtime and frozen raises for so long before I either quit or start to raise hell.

 

[Chucktown PE]

Yes, I'm at an A/E, and no, I don't get paid overtime. There are a few designers that get paid time and a half, but none of the salaried people get paid overtime. My boss said at our staff meeting on Monday that the President wanted everybody working at least 10% overtime. The first thing that popped into my head was "Well, I want to get paid at least 10% more for that work, but we don't always get what we want." I'm going along with it for now, mainly since I haven't really been here long enough to feel comfortable rocking the boat. But I will put up with this forced overtime and frozen raises for so long before I either quit or start to raise hell.

That sucks. We have time sheets and we bill our clients based on the hours we work. If we don't bill it then we don't get paid for it. So if I work 50 hours a week I get paid for 50 hours a week. Unless I don't have a billable project and have to charge time to an overhead number. Then I don't feel right about billing overtime.

 

[chaosiscash]

Yes, I'm at an A/E, and no, I don't get paid overtime. There are a few designers that get paid time and a half, but none of the salaried people get paid overtime. My boss said at our staff meeting on Monday that the President wanted everybody working at least 10% overtime. The first thing that popped into my head was "Well, I want to get paid at least 10% more for that work, but we don't always get what we want." I'm going along with it for now, mainly since I haven't really been here long enough to feel comfortable rocking the boat. But I will put up with this forced overtime and frozen raises for so long before I either quit or start to raise hell.

That's what I figured. They are still billing the clients for your 10% overtime, and then using it to help the books. Unpaid overtime is the single reason I left my last job. It gets old, real quick.

 

[Chucktown PE]

That's what I figured. They are still billing the clients for your 10% overtime, and then using it to help the books. Unpaid overtime is the single reason I left my last job. It gets old, real quick.

I guess your firm doesn't put the hours billed on the invoices, or they lie about it? We include a personel list with number of hours charged to each phase of the project with each invoice.

 

[wilheldp_PE]

Do you/did you guys still get quarterly bonuses on top of the overtime pay? We have an ESOP program and quarterly bonuses that come out of the pool over overtime money that isn't paid to salaried employees. I'm not sure if that is common to places that pay overtime as well though.

 

[chaosiscash]

I guess your firm doesn't put the hours billed on the invoices, or they lie about it? We include a personel list with number of hours charged to each phase of the project with each invoice.

I was guessing at to what wilheldp_PE's firm is doing. My firm pays us (and bills clients) based on hours we work.

However, I have seen companies (my old one for example) that bill the client based on the hours you work (say 50), but only pay the employee for 40 (because they are "salaried"). They then use the extra income to offset overhead costs. Its not really lying about the number of hours charged to the client, because the folks are still working the hours, instead its screwing the employee to benefit the company bottom line. Its shady, but happens all the time. Once again, that's why I left.

 

[chaosiscash]

Do you/did you guys still get quarterly bonuses on top of the overtime pay? We have an ESOP program and quarterly bonuses that come out of the pool over overtime money that isn't paid to salaried employees. I'm not sure if that is common to places that pay overtime as well though.

Depending on what level a person is where I work, they get bonuses. Project managers and group leaders, for example, get bonuses depending on how they meet their business development goals. But us worker bees don't get bonuses, other than the occasional atta-boy whenever a client specifically mentions someone's work to somebody in management.

Personally, I'll take hourly pay over a bonus anyday, but thats just me. At my old job, I once got a $1000 "bonus" for completing a specific high-priority task that took about 100 uncompensated overtime hours to finish (a lot of electrical work has to be done in the evenings or on weekends). After taxes that worked out to about $6.00 an hour. What a deal.

 

[wilheldp_PE]

Depending on what level a person is where I work, they get bonuses. Project managers and group leaders, for example, get bonuses depending on how they meet their business development goals. But us worker bees don't get bonuses, other than the occasional atta-boy whenever a client specifically mentions someone's work to somebody in management.
Personally, I'll take hourly pay over a bonus anyday, but thats just me. At my old job, I once got a $1000 "bonus" for completing a specific high-priority task that took about 100 uncompensated overtime hours to finish (a lot of electrical work has to be done in the evenings or on weekends). After taxes that worked out to about $6.00 an hour. What a deal.

Every employee gets a quarterly bonus here, but the hourly people get a much smaller bonus than salary people because their OT pay is considered part of their bonus. But it sucks when you don't have a profitable quarter even though you put in a bunch of hours. We had a "slightly" profitable quarter in 1Q09, and since the bonus pool wasn't full, they decided not to pay them out....then told us we need to work more overtime. To me, that is like saying "We ****** you on bonuses, we froze your salary, and now we want you to work more hours for less pay. Happy Wednesday!"

 

[Chucktown PE]

Over a certain level (usually about 5 years of service for an engineer) we get annual bonuses based on the company's prior year financial performance. We didn't get raises this year but they said they were deferred, not eliminated. I'll believe it when I see it.

On a much sadder note, one of my good friends that I worked with in ATL was laid off last week. He wasn't an engineer but did financial consulting work for utilities. A lot of people in his division were laid off. The worst part is that his wife that is 6 months pregnant was laid off the same day. He also had a home building business on the side and has had two houses sitting on the market for a year now. And a he's had to help his in-laws out with money to the tune of $10,000 recently. I feel really bad for the guy. But I don't quite know how to help him out. I'm not really in a position to offer financial assistance.

 

[Supe]

We get (or are supposed to get) bonuses at the end of the year that's directly related to the projects we charge our hours to. They assign a percentage for each pay grade to that project based on how close it gets to its goals, and charge off accordingly, i.e Bonus=((%A x hoursA x hourly rate)+(%B x hoursB x hourly rate) ...).

 

[Capt Worley PE]

My boss said at our staff meeting on Monday that the President wanted everybody working at least 10% overtime.

I would have said, "I'm OK with that if you pay me 10% more."

 

[snickerd3]

Bonuses...what are those...we state empolyees don't get those. We have to get overtime preapproved before we work it and have a choice of cash or comp time. They have been pushing for us to take the cash though...their thinking is since comptime means you will be out of the office more you are creating a backlog which will require more OT eventually to finish. That logic doesn't apply to us, as when we ask for the OT it is usually because we are traveling back from a site visit, not in office work.

 

[squishles10]

We got two weeks pay "in lieu of advance notice of the layoff". I'll need to dig out my copy of what I signed. I don't think it said anything about not suing.
But, the worst part of the whole thing is that if they offer me a job before I find something else, I HAVE to take it, or lose the unemployment. AND, I have to be willing to accept another 25% cut, according to TX unemployment rules.

hey tx- im also on unemployment in tx so let me give you the real lowdown on how it works. no one quote me on this.

first of all, they have no idea if youre offered another job or not, so when you fill out your weekly request for payment, just click the box that says you havent received an offer. same with the second part. how the hell are they going to know, read your mail??? they MIGHT know if its through that state website but i still doubt it. also that 5 a week thing is a joke. i ran out long ago. i think posts on here count as looking. and your in lieu of counts as pay so you cant collect until after that period is over but it should be now.

 

[C-Dog]

We haven't officially had a pay cut, but our hours have been reduced for the year. We are getting 5 unpaid furlough days spread out around various holidays. It comes to about a 2% pay cut. Rumors are flying that their may be more days added to the 5, we will see.