I hate my husbands job!!!!!!!!!

[bribella]

Here is some background first:

My DH is a journeyman marble mason and has been doing this for 9yrs now (he is only 26) He was in the union until he got laid off this past march.

There was nothing else going on in the stone trade for the union at that time and unemployment is a joke. So he got offered a job here in town 5 mins away from our house. But it was a $400 paycut a month and no benefits.

It seemed ok since he would no longer have to commute 73 miles one way to work and would get to be home more.

So the guy he is working for is someone he used to work with and my husband has been in this trade longer than his boss( but his boss go a big time investor and opened his own stone shop)

DH gets paid a salary which is nice when DH is sick or something and has to take the day off. However DH has been carrying this company since he started there. He works 60 + hrs a week( no overtime because he is salaried)

They call him at all hours of the day and night even on his day off. The 2 owners are brothers and hardly ever work they go out and ride their Harley's all day leaving my DH and 1 other guy to fabricate and install these huge jobs.

I realize they are the owners but come on they can't help out? We have 3 kids and we barely make ends meet sometimes with his salary. DH asks for a raise and they tell him to wait but they gave this other guy there a raise and he always calls in sick. WTH! :mad:

Yesterday mu DH went into work at 7 am like always and calls me that afternoon to tell me that he will be late......really late. 3am late!!!!!!

His boss kept putting off a commercial job that was suppose to be done by yesterday. So since DH is the only one in the company who knows how to do exterior stone work they had him stay until 3 am this morning and then had him come back in at 9 am this morning. WTF!!!!! I am so fed up with his bosses that I want to key their damn Harleys LOL! ( i wont really do that just a evil little thought lol)

But what else can he do until something else comes along?

[Jaidness]

that stinks~ I hope that things get better soon, poor hubby he must be exhausted

[spongebob]

sounds to me like they are using your husband, being on salary sucks. they can work you for as long as they want. yes it has its benfits .holidays and etc. but working those hours they having him doing is not worth it.

i understand he closer to work which is great. if i was him i would take a couple of sick days off and look for another one.. or tell them that he not working those hours any more . figure that up what does it come out to a hr. and at the end of the year your gonna have to pay taxes on that.

and can he go into bussiness for him self , is there a big demand for this. maybe he can bid on jobs. since he knows the job better then his bosses.

if i was him i would be taking time off..

[Shann]

Oh wow! I couldn't imagine being in his shoes. I guess you could call me lazy but there is now way I'd be out til 3 am and then be coming in at 9 am. I am not a morning person and like about 10 hrs of sleep and if I don't get it.. WATCH OUT! I think that is unfair they expect him to do this stuff. Can he have a talk w/ them? Or can he report them to some agency (I wouldn't know where) or can he start to look for another job. He is being pooped on and it's not fair. Just b/c you own a business does not mean you can leave one sole person to do a huge job while you dick around town. :mad: I hope things get better for you and your hubby soon.

[bribella]

and can he go into bussiness for him self , is there a big demand for this. maybe he can bid on jobs. since he knows the job better then his bosses.

if i was him i would be taking time off..

We have thought about that but we cant afford the bond and insurance for it. The bond alone is $7,000.

Every time he tries to take a day off they give him a hard time about it being hard to justify paying him his salary if he is going to take the day off. Not to mention his check are consitantly short $15-20 bucks.

[Shann]

Yikes! I would be asking them why his checks are short. Maybe you could call in sick for him. That way your hubby doesn't have to deal with it and if they give you any grief you can lay down the law and say he's sick, he's been overworked and needs to hang out in bed right now. Once he is better he will be back, until then, I'm sure you boys can handle it. :p They are treating him like crap and that's not right. I would really be looking for something else. If you didn't have kids I'd recommend Vegas, they are always looking for people out here... one of the fastest growing cities in the country. ;)

[Kelsey1224]

I am going to sound a little harsh here...but it is time that your husband grew a little backbone and spoke up for himself.

As for his being salaried...that is a bunch of bull!!! Under IRS regulations and federal law, his job class doesn't qualify as a salaried employee and he should be paid overtime.

Tell you husband to look it up!!! Yea...he has the advantage of getting a day off now and then when he needs it...but it doesn't sound like he is getting that time off. Plus, if he was paid the overtime, that additional pay would more than cover any pay lost if he did have to take time off.

BTW...I have a Master's Degree in Human Resources...and I know labor law!!!

[bribella]

I am going to sound a little harsh here...but it is time that your husband grew a little backbone and spoke up for himself.

As for his being salaried...that is a bunch of bull!!! Under IRS regulations and federal law, his job class doesn't qualify as a salaried employee and he should be paid overtime.

Tell you husband to look it up!!! Yea...he has the advantage of getting a day off now and then when he needs it...but it doesn't sound like he is getting that time off. Plus, if he was paid the overtime, that additional pay would more than cover any pay lost if he did have to take time off.

BTW...I have a Master's Degree in Human Resources...and I know labor law!!!
Thank you I will look up the info. He has spoke to them about it several times and has even threatend to pack up his tools and quit. They keep telling him to give them some time and they will give him what he deserves. Yeah Right!!

He is ready to quit and go work 2 other jobs if thats what he has to do. But with 3 kids we have to make those types of decisions wisely ya know?

[spongebob]

Every time he tries to take a day off they give him a hard time about it being hard to justify paying him his salary if he is going to take the day off. Not to mention his check are consitantly short $15-20 bucks.[/QUOTE]


that bull they have to pay him that flat fee that they been paying him. and i would say hey my check short once again this week.


He is ready to quit and go work 2 other jobs if thats what he has to do. But with 3 kids we have to make those types of decisions wisely ya know?

yes i understand we all do, but man they are working him to death and it is going to catch up to him and his health.. call in sick for him. and check into those laws as another op says .. then get that over time pay. and tell them to kiss it.

[LuvBigRip]

http://www.dol.gov/elaws/FirstStep/index.htm?Page=q16&q1=construction&q1a=No&q4=B&q6=No&q7=No&q8=No&q16=WA

[Kelsey1224]

http://www.dol.gov/elaws/FirstStep/index.htm?Page=q16&q1=construction&q1a=No&q4=B&q6=No&q7=No&q8=No&q16=WA

This is a great site with updated information as of 2004.

Basically, you can check what job classes qualify for exemption of overtime pay.

One of the key phrases is that "manual" labor does NOT qualify as being exempt from overtime pay. What that means is that people doing this kind of work should be paid overtime.

My father was a journeyman mason and boy did he ever work hard!!! It absolutely required training and skill...but it was definitely manual labor!!

[bribella]

Kelsey You sure do know your stuff! I called the local labor board and they are suppose to pay him hourly not salary since he holds no management duties.

Also they told me even with a salary because of his job classification they HAVE to pay him overtime for anything over 40 hrs.

Bad thing is if he files a complaint he could be fired.

They recommended he keep track of all his hours(they dont give him time cards) so if/when he departs from them he can go back and make them pay him what they cheated him out of

[DreamWorld]

Your poor husband! I hope everything works out for him and hopefully he'll be employed by someone who truly appreciates the work that he does.

Good luck! :)

[buglebe]

If they fire him don't they have to pay unemployment long enough for him to get a new job? He could become an independant worker. I bet he would keep his books filled.

[Kelsey1224]

I'm glad you were able to verify. Unfortunately...yes...they could fire him. But he would have a claim against them with the labor board.

They could get fined big time. These guys do not want to be audited by the state. I know here in California, employers can be audited with regard to how they pay employees, whether or not they pay the appropriate unemployment taxes, etc. (A friend of mine is an auditor for the state.) There are major fines for what these employers are doing.

[iluvmybaby]

:mad: That really sucks, I think that he needs to ask for a raise and to be paid by the hour or file a claim with the labor board, then if they fire him he DEFINETLY has a lawsuit against him, tho I think he already has a pretty strong one now

[bribella]

I passed the info to my dh and he will be talking to his boss tonight.

[LuvBigRip]

They recommended he keep track of all his hours(they dont give him time cards) so if/when he departs from them he can go back and make them pay him what they cheated him out of
http://www.dol.gov/esa/regs/compliance/whd/whdfs21.htm

Employees on Fixed Schedules: Many employees work on a fixed schedule from which they seldom vary. The employer may keep a record showing the exact schedule of daily and weekly hours and merely indicate that the worker did follow the schedule. When a worker is on a job for a longer or shorter period of time than the schedule shows, the employer must record the number of hours the worker actually worked, on an exception basis.

[schsa]

They fire him and he sues, they will loose. He is better off finding another job and leaving them behind. They are taking advantage of him and they know it. He should be getting benefits as well as being paid on an hourly basis. He would be better off quitting and finding work elsewhere. It isn't worth it just to make those bozo's rich.

[Kelsey1224]

So...give us an update. Did he talk to his lazy bosses? Does he still have a job?

[bribella]

Yeah he talked to them and told them what the labor board had to say. His boss said " I'll just give you a "management title" so I don't have to pay you hourly" which my husband and I both know wont really be anything but a title.

And his boss said that is was BS that he was suppose to pay him overtime pay. They are also having him work on jobs through their other company and dont pay him anything for it.

He can't just quit until he finds something else and right now there is nothing. Unemployment does not even begin to cover even a 1/4 of our basic living expenses.

And I talking only rent, vehicle payment, utilities, food and phone.

So he is just stuck between a rock and a hard palce for the time being.

[Kelsey1224]

He needs to report them to the labor board. It will be investigated!!! They are essentially blackmailing him into working overtime and other jobs without paying him.

They can not get away with this. They will be fined big time!!!