Daycare/Preschool Wage Practices -Ohio

[shamrox]

Pardon me for all the questions but the following seems to be common practices in the Child Care Industry in Ohio. I thought the answers to these questions all in one post might be helpful to others.

According to my Director, the State of Ohio requires that Child Care employees have 15 hours of inservice training or continuing education per year.

Q1: Is my employer required to pay my class fees?
Q2: Is my employer required to pay my hourly wage or minimum wage while I attend these classes?
Q3: If the time I spend at work and these necessary classes equal over 40 hours in 1 week, must my employer pay me overtime. (I am not on salary).
Q4: Is my employer required to pay for travel time if these classes are not held at my place of employment?

Q5: Is a salaried child care employee with a Child Development Associates Degree (2 year), but who earns less than $455 a week, exempt from overtime wages?

The following questions are basically for hourly wage employees.

Q6: I was originally hired as a part-time employee but for the past 8 months I have been regularly scheduled (and worked) 40 hour weeks. I have never received holiday pay, sick pay, or accumulated vacation time, as has my "full-time" co-workers. After speaking with my Director, he says, "Well, we still have you listed as a part-time employee." Is it illegal for him to deny me benefits?

Q7: If I must stay later than my scheduled shift end, to clean my room or because parents are late (etc), is my employer required by state law to pay me?
Q8: If I must come in after work or on the weekends to prepare or clean my room for State inspections (etc), is my employer required to pay me my hourly wage or can they bipass it by stating "I'll by lunch!"

Often throughout the year my employer schedules after work hours or weekend events (Family Carnival Night, Patriotic Family Picnic, New School Year Bash, Harvest Celebration, and a Happy Holidays ChoralFest). A "volunteer sheet" is passed around for employees to sign up to work at these functions. When the "volunteer" sheet has very few names, the director has been known to remind us that a small part of our wage raise consideration is based on our participation in these unpaid events.

Q9: Is this legal?

I do know many of the answer to the previous questions based on Federal Law and the Fair Labor Standards Act but I was told by my employer that State Laws supercede Federal Laws. I had an issue with one of the above questions with my employer. When I brought it to her attention, complete with a printout of the FLSA with regard to Child Care Centers, she refused to read the papers.

Later, when the Assistant Director was in my room, I jokingly asked if she would like to read what I had learned, she said, "No, no!"
I laughed and said, "But you might be a Director someday. You should know this stuff."
She replied, "Oh, no. I don't want to see that. That stuff doesn't interest me."

I'm finished! Thanks!

[Pattymd]

Whew! Glad you finished because that's a lot of questions!

Legally speaking,

1. No.
2. Attendace at such training is worktime unless: a) it is held outside of the employee's regular working hours; b) attendance is voluntary (not a condition of employment set by the employer); c) it is not directly related to the employee's job; and d) the employee does not perform any productive work for the employer while attending. If ALL FOUR of these criteria exist, the time is not compensable; if ANY ONE of them is FALSE, the time is compensable.

3. Only if the class attendance meets the criteria for compensable time (see above).

4. Not necessasrily, although by practice, if the travel time occurs during your regular working hours, most employers will pay for that time.

5. There are very few exempt positions for which the $455/week salary requirement is waived (doctors, attorneys, outside salespersons). My educated opinion would be no.

6. Yes. There is no legal requirement that just because you work 40 hours per week that you be considered "full-time" and eligible for benefits. What would it take for them to reclassify you as such? Negotiation?

7. Yes.

8. Yes. Lunch or other perqs in lieu of hourly wage and/or overtime is not permitted by law for nonexempt employees.

9. Yes. The "teamwork" concept of volunteering may be considered in promotion and salary decisions.

See, here's the thing about federal and state labor laws. All states must comply with the federal laws. The states may enact legislation requiring more stringent requirements (but not less). So, when laws conflict, the law that grants the better advantage to the employee controls. Unfortunately for employees, Ohio has very few wage and hour regulations of its own, and defaults almost totally to the FLSA.

On the other hand, YOU sound like you could be a director some day, so it's going to be GREAT for you to know all this stuff!

Good luck. Take care of the precious kiddies!

5.

[RachelSmith]

I know I posted this elsewhere, but I though this thread would be more appropriate.

Basically, I work 10-11 hours per day, 6 days per week at at DayCare facility.

I am NEVER permitted a lunch break (save for the one time we had a visit from a State inspector).

Is there any law that says I am entitled to a lunch break? Ever?

Sorry for the duplicate post.

[Pattymd]

Unfortunately, no, Ohio law does not require lunch breaks for adult employees.

[cbg]

Rachel, please do not duplicate post.

Instead of looking for the most appropriate thread to append your question to, you might try starting your own thread. Just a suggestion.