Unfair Compensation in the Workplace
Unit 9: Assignment
Unfair Labor and Compensation Practices
In this assignment, you will be assessed based on the following Outcomes:
Analyze the role of government with regard to compensation.
Demonstrate college-level communication through the composition of original materials in Standard English.
Introduction:
In Chapter 15, you examined the impact of unions and government on compensation and benefits policy. In this assignment, you will explore how government laws apply to compensation, and the fairness of compensation practices. You will examine options employees may have when disputing unfair labor and compensation practices.
Read the scenario, and be sure to address all the checklist items and minimum requirements.
Scenario (Gerhart, 2022):
You work at an upscale coffee shop that is part of a nationwide chain of 200 such stores. You started as a barista, but then you moved up. Your title is now store manager. You are expected to work 55 hours per week. Your boss says you need to be in the store to get to know the customers and because, well, you are the manager. It is up to you to make sure everything runs smoothly and that there is a great customer experience, which translates into growth in store sales volume and store profit. By the way, however many hours you work, you get paid for 40 hours only (and no overtime pay) because … that’s right, you are the manager.
However, as you think about how you spend your time at the store, you cannot help but feel that a lot of your time seems to be spent on things that don’t seem much like “management” to you—making coffee drinks, checking supplies, and sometimes cleaning bathrooms. So, this is the life of a manager. It seems a lot like being a barista, except that you work a lot more hours, have more responsibility, and you don’t get paid all that much more. You do spend some time on training other employees and you interview job applicants. But, the district manager is around a lot and she seems to have her own ideas on who to hire most of the time and how to run the store. Plus, there are pretty clear corporate guidelines to be followed on how to run many aspects of the store.
The more you think about it, the more you think that it sure would be nice to get paid for working 55 hours. In fact, you have friends who work in other businesses and when they work over 40 hours in a week, they get [paid] time and a half for the hours beyond 40. That sounds awfully good. If you are going to spend all of your time at work, it would be nice to at least get paid what you deserve for it (pp. 656–657).
Checklist: Write an informative essay addressing these checklist items (PG Writing Center, 2021a).
Analyze whether it is fair for the company to ask you to work 55 hours per week based on how they are paying you. Are you being paid appropriately for your current job role? Why or why not? Cite the specific laws related.
Is this company compliant with FLSA?
Have there been any similar situations in the recent news in which a lawsuit has been filed? Consider other companies in your industry or related industries (e.g., Starbucks, McDonalds, Chipotle, etc.).
As an employee, what options do you have if you feel this is not fair? What do you recommend as your next steps?
Unfair Compensation in The Workplace
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Unfair Compensation in The Workplace
Analyze whether it is fair for the company to ask you to work 55 hours per week based on how they are paying you. Are you being paid appropriately for your current job role? Why or why not? Cite the specific laws related.
According to the Fair Labor Standard Act, the recommended working hours are 40 per week. However, a company may request you to work for extra hours a day as overtime but should compensate you for any extra hours worked. The company is unfair by making me work extra hours based on my salary. The employment contract should clearly state the number of hours an employee should work every week and the pay they will receive at the end of the week. However, Sec.207 (f) of the FLSA provides that an employee may not be paid overtime if they are exempted such that they receive a specified salary in a week and not based on hours worked (US DEP’T OF LAB., WAGE & HOUR DIV 2019). Also, if you are not entitled to a salary in a company, you are not entitled to overtime pay.
The company needs to pay me appropriately based on the work I do in the management position. My responsibilities keep increasing each day, adding to the number of hours I work each day, which does not reflect in the salary I receive every week. A manager position should come with overtime pay for every additional hour I work per week, or there should be a written contract for the payment of a specific amount of salary every week, irrespective of the number of hours I work. Still, it should be fair enough and matching with my responsibilities. Based on Section 207 of the Fair Labor Standards Act about maximum hours, subsection (a) requires that no employer shall employ any of his employees to engage in the production of goods and services for hours exceeding 40 per week unless they receive compensation for the excess hours worked (US DEP’T OF LAB., WAGE & HOUR DIV. 2019). The extra hours should be compensated at one and a half times the normal employee pay rate.
Is this company compliant with FLSA?
According to US DEP’T OF LAB., WAGE & HOUR DIV. (2019), an employer should pay employees for extra hours worked above forty hours a week. Provided the employee records the extra hours worked and their contract provides that they should receive overtime pay. This company is not compliant with FLSA based on this overtime pay issue. The employment does not involve irregular hours of work, which would not necessitate overtime pay under Sec.207 and does not include piece-rate employment pay. The standard does not provide the amount of work an employee should do per week but only states the rate at which one should be paid once they exceed the recommended working hours per week. Working 55 hours is more than the FLSA recommended and should be compensated.
Have there been any similar situations i...