NO OVERTIME OR PAY

carl_4

IS IT REASONABLE IN THE HVAC INDUSTRY TO WORKING 9-10 HOUR DAYS WITH CONTINUOUS EMERGENCY CALLS W/OUT A BREAK 365 DAYS A YEAR; AND NOT GET PAYED ANYTHING AT ALL FOR ALL THOSE HOURS....I WORK FOR A SMALL MECH CONTRACTOR AND HE SAYS THATS NORMAL AND THAT IT BALANCES OUT INSURANCE COST WHICH I DONT EVEN WANT THE COVERAGE.IS THIS NORMAL...IM BURNT OUT AND BROKE...IF THIS IS NORMAL I WANT TO CHANGE PROFESSIONS RATHER THAN FIND SOMEONE ELSE TO WORK FOR...PLEASE ADVISE..I LOVE THE WORK BUT IN MY SITUATION IT HAS RUINED MY LIFE TO THE POINT OF MAKING ME SUICIDAL...PLEASE ADVISE.

Floyd_5

Carl,

Where are you at man.....
Sounds like you could do better.....
Give us more info. maybe someone here can help.

Floyd

PS. Turn off the caps... it is hard to read.

Mark Eatherton1

Carl,

First off, there isn't ANY job worth losing your life over. Sit back, take a deep breath and be thankful for the things you DO have.

Secondly, to the best of my knowledge, unless you are on a fixed salary, your employer is required to pay you for anything over 40 hours per week as overtime. There are also some stipulations about daily hours worked, but because I've spent my whole life as a salaried employee, I can't tell you what it is. As far as it being an industry standard, I don't think so. Some companies (most) pay by the hour, and some (mine) make all employees salaried employees. If my employees work substantially over their required 40 hour week, they are compensated in time off with pay at their discretion.

Look around and go talk with other employers. Yours is not the only one around. And if you are serioulsy considering taking your life, seek counseling. It's just not worth it. Life is too short as it is.

ME

carl_4

> Where are you at man..... Sounds like you could

> do better..... Give us more info. maybe someone

> here can help.

>

> Floyd

>

> PS. Turn off the

> caps... it is hard to read.



caps lock off...sorry. Im in Minneapolis, Mn. i realize extra time and oc are put of the industry , but it never ends...and im paid poverty wages..icant even afford my co pays for doc visits. I work endlessly only to get burnt and go further in the hole finnancially. i could deal with it easier if i was at least compensated..in a metro the size of mpls to be the only service tech in my company to be able correctly service power burners,steam,furnaces,reset controls,furnaces, etc is overwhelming...the other guys, including the boss say but we dont know how. the owner sits in vegas and the other guys are out partying, while im out working endlessly and get paid zilch. Explain to your wife/kids youre working all the time...missing on even the min reqiurements for them and yr broke and cant buy girl scout cookies from your daughter cuz yr broke.

Mad Dog

Knock it off Bro.....you've got too much to live for

as ME said, you have to get OT pay. Perhaps you need a conscience-raising. But don't make any fast moves. Post a job wanted ad here...you'll get lots of responses. Mad dog

To Learn More About This Professional, Click Here to Visit Their Ad in "Find A Contractor"

lchmb

stop..take a breath..relax..and find a company that will work with you some..unless you have agreed to salary he cannot refuse to pay you for hour's worked..as to call...there is nothing that say's he has to pay you but most companies do pay in some manner..as to being on call every day...not me..wouldn't do it would find a bigger company that has more tech's..
Just don't do anything that you will regret in 20 minute's..

John R. Hall

Life is too short

I might be able to recommend another future employer in the Twin Cities region. This is a guy who treats his people right. Drop me a line.

Remember, family and God should be the main focus in your life. No job is worth more.

jim lockard

too long

Sounds like you have been too long in the cold Carl. If your half as good as you say you are finding a good well paying job anywhere in this country should not be a problem. So take the gun out of your mouth, come in from the ledge and start working toward a postive future. Your little girl scout goin want you to walk her down the aisle one day. Talk to guys at the supply house, go thru the phone book, use your contacts, friends family, come on find a better job. Its the middle of winter in frostbite falls--your the heater dude. If your future was a furnace you'd fix her so get going. Best Wishes J.Lockard

jeff_25

carl relax look in the phone book for your loacal union were allways looking for good people by the way you dont have to start as an aprenise you can become an assocate they look at what you know, school traning ect. good luck even if you just talk to them on wages will help see if you are grossly under paid jeff

Pat_7

If it were me I would be talking to a lawyer - do you keep good records of your work time?? In the state of Ohio what he is doing is expressly forbidden. Over 40 hours and you get OT pay - comp time is a gray area. Also sounds as if you were not there that they would go down the tubes. That company is not worth the price you are paying - we would love to have someone as dedicated as you are.

Dave_8

Been there, done that

took a hike, you are working for the wrong dude my friend, if you are any good at all this area of work is always looking for good people. Get looking around and find a good job. If nothing else you have piled up some experience.

Andy_6

Carl you can do better. All work and no play does burn people out, and is not way to go thru life. How long have you been in the business? My shop is located in St.Cloud, MN. Check us out at www.hvacshop.us. I am in need of a good craftsman with experience.

Paul Mitchell

you gotta leave

it is not legal not to pay OT. Most people do what they can get away with. You gotta talk to the other guys and square this away!!!!!!!!!!!!

To Learn More About This Professional, Click Here to Visit Their Ad in "Find A Contractor"

Jack_23

Do you have your pay stubs

If so you can go to the state labor dept and you will get your back pay. And you will be changing jobs!

steve_26

Go,Go now

You should get paid OT anything over 8hr and any time over 40hr.Sat is OT. Sunday is 4hr Min.

In case you hav'nt heard there is a high demand for quality help out here, so talk to your boss or take the walk.

If you want to move to Boston send me your resume.
Good luck

steve

Confused_2

Wake up call

There are hourly paid employees and salary paid employees. Which did you agree to? Salary paid people do not have to be paid OT or straight time for time over 8 hrs / 40 hours. This can be easily taken advantage of by greedy owners. Take your 2003 gross pay and then divide it by the TOTAL hours you worked in 2003. You may find out your not making what you are worth. If so find a better deal and run for your life. Everyone's time on this earth is very short. No one gets out alive. You must find a balance between work and time off. No one on their deathbed said "I wish I worked more hours". This is your wake up call. You are the master of your destiny. If your not happy, change it!

Bud_14

Much Less Stress

Switch to installations only and drop the service altogether. Good sheet metal workers are hard to find. I spent the past twenty plus years being pointed at and cursed at "How come Bud never has to be on call?" hehehe
Thats when I was smart! Three years ago I opened my own shop, haven't had a day off since...Yikes. I'll stick wit the Tin...I shut my HVAC business down to a crawl. And will have it 100% shut down by the end of March.

Breath in - Breath out

Bud

Kevin_12

Carl

I work for a service experts comp. in Indy and we are paid overtime for over 40 hours (time plus half) also can make "spiff money" by sellind service contacts, collecting money when completed with service work, selling humidifiers, t-stats...
I don't get paid OT for over 8 hours though like someone posted. I do work 10-12 hours a day.
Jesus loves you, pray about it in His name. You'll be surprised.
We have 7 service techs and 7 maintence techs.(cleaning guys) we take night call 1 day rotations and backup call every 14 weeks

Dave DeFord

OT pay...

Federal law and most if not all state laws require pay at 1.5 times normal pay for all hours over 40 per week, unless you are managment. Even if you have signed a so-called contract that says you will work every hour of every day for a salay unless you are in fact a manager you can collect back pay. (Managers are usually defined as someone who makes management decisions such as who get assigned to particular jobs, wage rates, hiring and firing etc. - it doesn't sound like you fit that definition) Check with the Wage-Hour division of the U.S. Department of labor or with your state labor department here http://www.doli.state.mn.us/laborlaw.html#Overtime

after you get a new job. The situation that you are facing is the reason that unions exist in this world. You may want to do your fellow employees a favor and start an organizing drive (be prepared to lose your job if you do).

You may also want to check with your state OSHA and federal OSHA folks as employers that ignore wage laws ususally ignore safety laws too. Good luck and above all else your family and life come way before any job!