I'm sorry, you've been promoted..

[triadruid]

No, this isn't about my own pending promotion, but a company that decided to pre-emptively implement the new Bush Administration exemptions on 'professional' employees not receiving overtime under the Fair Labor Standards Act.

And supporters of this proposal can still say with a straight face that it will be a boon for workers, 'as well as business'?

Remember kids, just 411 days until Election Day 2004.

Comments

[diermuid.livejournal.com]

I never really got that myself... I am an exempt employee. So the theory is that I can make up my own working hours. Indeed, this is true for the most part.

However, if you have a job to do, and you can get it all done well in six hours a day rather than eight, you still do not feel safe going home early.

Furthermore... most every exempt employee I know, works well over 40 hours a week. Our release meeting is scheduled from 5-7PM, M-W-F. The Direector's meeting runs 7-8AM daily. Do we see a problem here?

In looking into the Fair Labor Act, the point of 40 hour workweeks was to curb the exploitation of the factory workers. Anyone who works on the line, will only have to work 40 hours or be compensated accordingly. This does not apply to academics and managers. The 40 hour workweek was set up to protect those who did not have the ability to protect themselves. Exempt employees are the college-educated folks who in theory, carve out their own niche. The thought being that if the demand was too high, educated people could leave... thus a check/balance was in place... they could only work people as hard as people were willing to be worked. Work them too hard, and they will go elsewehre.

This works in boom economies... but does not work during a bust. No one wants to move, and no one wants to hire. People get trimmed out, and the remaining folks get squeezed tighter. Untill they bail out of the workforce, or they get squeezed out, and come back with a shotgun.

Yeay... unforseen consequences... who would have thunk.

What, me bitter? Nah!