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Confused Satellite Tech
I work as a satellite TV technician for one of Dish Network's regional service providers. I am responsible for installing, upgrading, and servicing the satellite TV equipment at customer's homes. I work directly for this company, I am not a contractor or subcontractor.
My company uses a piece rate pay plan. I get paid X amount of money for job type A, and Y amount of money for job type B, etc... The pay is the same regardless of how long a given job takes.
The company, a corporation, I work for is based in Oklahoma. I also live in and I'm a resident of Oklahoma. I work at customer's homes in Oklahoma, Texas, and Arkansas. My company has offices in the three states I've mentioned. I'm technically based out of an office in Texas even though I only go there once weekly for a meeting and to pickup equipment for the next week. I keep a weeks worth of company equipment at my home because of the long drive (105 miles) from my house to the office. I am classified as an away tech by the company because I do not go to the office on a daily basis.
I start my day out by loading company equipment onto my truck at my house. I then drive to my first job. The time I arrive at this first job is what I've been told is my start time for the day and what I should put on my time card. I do the first job and continue on doing the others until I finish the last one that day. The time I leave the last job is my ending time for the day I have to put on my time card. I then come home and spend another two hours or so processing all of my paperwork into the computer and sending it to my company via the Internet. I then have to download new paperwork for the next day and print it. Once a week I have to inventory the equipment I have at my home and submit reports to my company.
Because my company only allows me to count the time from when I start my first job until the time I finish the last one it looks like I work much less than I actually do. None of the time spent loading/uploading the truck, doing inventory, or doing paperwork is included. Therefore I never get overtime and my pay is easily higher than minimum wage for the hours I show to have worked.
My first question, even though I am doing it at home, does stuff like inventory and paperwork count toward my hours worked? This is stuff many techs would do on the clock at the office but since I'm an away tech I can't easily just drive to the office to do this.
Secondly, what about days when I go try to work but jobs fall through and I end up making nothing? Is the company required to pay me for my time? If so at, what rate?
Also if the company requires me to bring all of my equipment into the office for inventory and I have no pay from jobs that day what exactly do they have to pay me? Currently they pay for the short time I'm there but do not pay for the time spent loading/unloading the equipment at home and the 4+ hours spent transporting it to and from the office. They also do not pay for vehicle expenses on days like this. Part of the vehicle lease I signed says I have to attempt to complete one job to be reimbursed for expenses. Since we have no jobs on inventory days then I get no truck reimbursement.
Sorry for being so long winded. This job is just really confusing.
My company uses a piece rate pay plan. I get paid X amount of money for job type A, and Y amount of money for job type B, etc... The pay is the same regardless of how long a given job takes.
The company, a corporation, I work for is based in Oklahoma. I also live in and I'm a resident of Oklahoma. I work at customer's homes in Oklahoma, Texas, and Arkansas. My company has offices in the three states I've mentioned. I'm technically based out of an office in Texas even though I only go there once weekly for a meeting and to pickup equipment for the next week. I keep a weeks worth of company equipment at my home because of the long drive (105 miles) from my house to the office. I am classified as an away tech by the company because I do not go to the office on a daily basis.
I start my day out by loading company equipment onto my truck at my house. I then drive to my first job. The time I arrive at this first job is what I've been told is my start time for the day and what I should put on my time card. I do the first job and continue on doing the others until I finish the last one that day. The time I leave the last job is my ending time for the day I have to put on my time card. I then come home and spend another two hours or so processing all of my paperwork into the computer and sending it to my company via the Internet. I then have to download new paperwork for the next day and print it. Once a week I have to inventory the equipment I have at my home and submit reports to my company.
Because my company only allows me to count the time from when I start my first job until the time I finish the last one it looks like I work much less than I actually do. None of the time spent loading/uploading the truck, doing inventory, or doing paperwork is included. Therefore I never get overtime and my pay is easily higher than minimum wage for the hours I show to have worked.
My first question, even though I am doing it at home, does stuff like inventory and paperwork count toward my hours worked? This is stuff many techs would do on the clock at the office but since I'm an away tech I can't easily just drive to the office to do this.
Secondly, what about days when I go try to work but jobs fall through and I end up making nothing? Is the company required to pay me for my time? If so at, what rate?
Also if the company requires me to bring all of my equipment into the office for inventory and I have no pay from jobs that day what exactly do they have to pay me? Currently they pay for the short time I'm there but do not pay for the time spent loading/unloading the equipment at home and the 4+ hours spent transporting it to and from the office. They also do not pay for vehicle expenses on days like this. Part of the vehicle lease I signed says I have to attempt to complete one job to be reimbursed for expenses. Since we have no jobs on inventory days then I get no truck reimbursement.
Sorry for being so long winded. This job is just really confusing.
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