Unovertime

[MMOUSE562]

I work in Georgia at a 911 center. I am scheduled for 4 - 10 hour days. Earlier this month I came in and worked midnight to six for and employee who was ill. The director of the center then changed my schedule for the remainder of the week and made me leave 2 hours early each night so she would not have to pay overtime. First question is -Is this legal? This week I also worked overtime for another employee taking a holiday and was once again changed by going home 2 hours early each night. The second question is- Is it discrimination of some sort that I am the only employee that she does this to? I'm going to put all assumptions aside- I am the only one she can make leave early because we have to leave a certain number of employees there and all others are scheduled until the end of the shift, since I am the one who leaves early and leaves three employees, no other employee can be made to leave early.

[LConnell]

It is legal to adjust a person's schedule to avoid paying overtime, unless the person is in a state that calculates overtime on a daily basis. However, if one person is being treated differently because of a discriminatory reason, such as their age, disability, national origin, pregnancy, race, religion or gender OR in retaliation for taking an action protecting their legal rights, such as notifying OSHA of a safety violation or filing a complaint of discrimination, it is very illegal.

It doesn't sound like that is the situation here. Have you talked with your manager to let them know that you don't mind filing in for another but perhaps others can fill in occasionally?

Let me know if you have any other questions.

[MMOUSE562]

My supervisor has no control over who works overtime.We sign up for it. I work it because I want the extra money. But that never happens. It just seems unfair that she can change my schedule to avoid the overtime but the girl sitting next to me doing the same job, same benefits,same pay can sign up for 12 hours and it is all OT, I sign up for 12 and get paid for 4. How is it OK to single me out?

[LConnell]

You said that you are the only one who is in a position that can leave early. Why is that?

[MMOUSE562]

The schedule for everyone (other than me)at our center is 6-6. I work 6-4 so after 4 there are only 3 people there until 6. When I work overtime,she makes me leave at 2. Which leaves the shift short 1 person earlier in the morning. The others on the shift work until 6, so it would leave only 2 after 4 when I left if they left early also.So if they sign up for OT they get paid the full 12 hours they work, I get my hours cut 2 hours per night to absorb the overtime.

[LConnell]

Unfortunately, it is legal. It sounds like you have the option of either bidding for a schedule similar to the others or accepting the changes to the schedule.

Let me know if you have any other questions.

[MMOUSE562]

Let me put it this way. We have 16 dispatchers. 15 of them work 6 to 6. Because of this schedule, they have 48 hours every two weeks. This gives them 8 hours overtime on every pay check.
After working there for almost 2 years, I was placed on a schedule of 10 hours a day 4 days a week. This meant that I no longer recieved the overtime that everyone else recieves every pay period. When I asked why I was given this shift instead of a dispatcher with a few months less seniority than me, I was told that it was because she was not capable of working all the radios and therefore needed additional training.
At any rate I began working the shift. In order to try to get back some of my overtime I agreed to work for other dispatchers when they needed off for illness or for other reasons. After I worked for someone the first time, I was told that I would have to leave 2 hours early every day for the rest of the week in order to absorb the overtime. I am not given the option of going in late or taking all of the time on one day. I must leave 2 hours early.
The other 15 dispatchers are still getting overtime and they are never forced to leave early on a normal scheduled shift either to absorb their scheduled overtime or when they work for someone else. That means that others can often get their 8 overtime hours plus 12 overtime hours for replacing someone and they are not forced to absorb the time.
On the nights that I am forced to leave 2 hours early there are three other dispatchers in the room who have at least 8 hours of overtime. Any of the other dispatchers could leave at 2 and I could continue to work the remaining 4 hours. This would provide the same number of dispatchers and reduce the overtime more equally. Instead they are allowed to recieve basically all the overtime that they are willing to work and I am held to 40 hours.

[LConnell]

So, it's a case of punishing the talented and willing. That is horrible. Or, do you think it is a case of discrimination, such as you are being singled out because of your age, disability, national origin, pregnancy, race, religion, gender or in retaliation because you might have filed a workers compensation claim, a safety claim, etc.?

If it isn't discrimination, it could be a case where the management is unaware of the unfairness of the situation OR they don't want to expend the effort to correct it. Have you approached her, asking about the possibility of cross-training the others so that you have an equal opportunity to earn overtime? If you let her know that you don't mind filling in for others but you want to make sure that you have the same opportunity to earn overtime. Perhaps you can offer to assist in training some of the others. If she perceives that you are being cordial and that you are asking for assistance, rather than demanding change, she will be much more likely to try to accommodate you. Managers find it difficult to turn down someone who is being helpful, accommodating and asking for assistance. It is much easier to turn down or ignore an employee who is confrontational, challenging and demanding.

What do you think?