Maybe you're at your cubicle right now, or maybe you're at home on your own system. No matter. The point is, you're doing work for your employer and you're probably not getting a dime beyond the rate they hired you for.
A rate driven down so far it's looking up at bottom, when you factor in the hours you rack up.
We see you nodding. Maybe you're doing that nod, not for yourself but on behalf of your significant other, whom you never see, because he or she is always working. You're lucky you have a relationship at all.You know how it starts. It always begins the same way. The company brings you on board as a specialist - with just the right set of skills for the unique software they're putting together, stuff that will set the IT world on its' ear, and you'll be right at the ground floor. They pander to your ego, especially when it comes to the starting salary, which is quite generous. $80,000 maybe? Not a bad rate for a guy fresh out of university with a student loan to pay off.
And it's a team. You'll be a player, and part of something big. Something special. You might be asked to work a couple of hours extra here and there when the need arises. Or they may not even be that specific, asking instead if you're okay with the need to be flexible, from time to time.
Done deal.
Those first few months were pretty heady. The chance to work with some of the finest minds in software, associated with a company name that screams 'this kid is hot' from your c.v. It's a 'one-for-all-and-all-for-one' atmosphere, and you really feel like you're one of the girls. And the hours just fly by.
But eventually you come down to earth. Maybe it was your girlfriend forgetting what you look like, or the bags under your eyes, or the number of times you literally fall asleep at the screen. You're forgetting birthdays, you're forgetting to shower. Your life is slipping right through your fingers, and for what?
Ten bucks an hour? That's how it might break down, once you factor in the hours.
Independent contractors don't get paid overtime, as it's a service provided to the company. But if you're an employee of them firm, in a non-supervisory role, you're NOT a contractor, and you ARE entitled to overtime; according to California State statutes, extra pay for every hour worked beyond eight hours in a day. Yes, in California the calculation is done daily. That's the law.
Perhaps you've been offered compensation time? Okay, then try collecting it. "Oh, you can't take off now, we're right on deadline here and we all have to pull this together to make it work. They're counting on us...." So you defer. Meanwhile the time builds and builds, to the point that you have so much time banked, you'd be gone for months. Compensation time is not realistic in an industry that views time and connectivity as much more than a commodity, but rather a birthright. Besides, you have the system at home. You have the Blackberry. They would find you, and reel you back in.
There have been settlements, you know. Electronic Arts had to fork over U.S. 14.9 million over a class-action lawsuit regarding unpaid overtime last October. Big Blue (IBM) faced a $65 million dollar settlement. It's a huge hit. But where does that amount sit in comparison to all the money the employers are not paying to their employees? Based on the number of bodies, and the number of hours involved, the accumulated savings would be a huge number. Chances are good that you'll either burn out, or burn up the ladder and move on before you ever get the chance to ask for owed O.T. And you DO have to chase it. It's all about the bottom line these days, baby, and if they don't have to pay it, they won't. They'll find a way to classify you, to escape paying. They'll make you a supervisor, without anyone to supervise. They'll call you an independent contractor, even though you're a regular employee.
You have every right to complain. But then, there are a 1001 eager young turks just like you, beating down the door, waiting for a chance to make their mark on the industry.
We'll give you a chance to sleep on it. You've probably been up for two days already, and just about asleep now. But do yourself a favour. Grab a calculator and add up the money they owe you, from all those unpaid hours.
We'll wait....
That's quite a tidy sum, isn't it? And all that money is going in their pocket, not your's.
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Sure, you love the job. But unless you have a deal which gives you a percentage of the profit, they're not being fair to you. And they know it, you know. Most of you are just plain too tired to even take up the fight.
Thus you soldier on, earning California Pay you never, ever collect. California Pay? That's the sunshine, and the lifestyle that you never have the chance to enjoy.
Sun? What sun? You may be basking in a glow, but it sure isn't natural light. And the sad part is, you should be investing all this time and effort in your own dream.
Not someone else's.