Question about hourly pay

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Question about hourly pay

Postby bdsharp » Fri Aug 25, 2017 7:46 am

This is way, way off-topic, but as I'm sure there's a wide range of work experience here, I'll ask.

My daughter is negotiating a job as a graphic designer, to be paid hourly. The employer expects her to be in the office 9-5, but only wants to pay her for the time that she's actually working on a project. Is this common? I know it's how a lot of auto tech guys work.

Seems to me that if you're required to be in, you should be paid for the time, but I've never worked hourly except for high-school stuff and could be way out of touch on the whole concept.

They're talking about a rate of maybe $16-18/hr, so it wouldn't be a lot of money even at 40 hours. Would it be reasonable to insist on some minimum paid time, as of course the rent will be due no matter what.

This is her first real job, and is willing to make some compromises to break through, but not to the point of unacceptable risk.

Thanks for any advice.
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Re: Question about hourly pay

Postby Fitzy » Fri Aug 25, 2017 9:24 am

I think I would check the state labor laws I could tell you here in NY I have to pay my hourly employees for every hour they are punched on the clock there are mandatory 15 min brakes one in the morning one in the afternoon and mandatory 30 min lunch and every hour punched on the clock over 40 hrs is overtime which is time and a half My technicians work flat rate which is what I believe your referring to they do only get paid for the time they are working on a car but generally produce 60-70 hrs of work for the 40 hrs they are here but if there wasn't any work they would get nothing hope this helps.
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Re: Question about hourly pay

Postby RazorJon » Fri Aug 25, 2017 9:27 am

That sounds pretty sketchy to me, I worked hourly all my life and have a simple rule, when I'm on the clock, you pay me, when you stop paying me I go home

I have been paid shop rate before and the hourly pay was much higher than $18.00

As it is her first job it will get her foot in the door, and experience but I would keep looking

But if she has to work 40 hours for 20 hours pay she might as well flip burgers

You might want to check your states employment laws
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Re: Question about hourly pay

Postby Pappy » Fri Aug 25, 2017 9:39 am

In life you only get what you negotiate. It's her decision if she wants to try it. If she doesn't sign a contract she can quit anytime. It might be worth a try and it might work out great, you don't know until you try. Remember, no one can exploit you if you don't let them.
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Re: Question about hourly pay

Postby glasshorsevh » Fri Aug 25, 2017 10:58 am

Just a couple of thoughts... It may be that the employer is actually trying to track the hours expended on a particular project and she may be working on several. Often the hourly rate is regional as in NY City compared to Billings Montana. Assuming she just got out of some school, she might find out what her classmates are finding the job market is paying for entry level work...

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Re: Question about hourly pay

Postby waaytoomuchintothis » Fri Aug 25, 2017 11:18 am

I'm 66 years old (ugh!), and I have worked so many different jobs, people don't believe it. Since a lot of those jobs were hourly pay while in high school, college, and many years of post graduate work, I can tell you specifically that I never was paid for lunch time. Never at all. It was always 4 hours in the morning, lunch, then 4 hours in the afternoon, then time and a half for overtime up to a total of 80 hours a week, where it became double pay.

One job paid double plus a half for weekends following a week over 80 hours. When a contractor for a big building being built for a big outfit is behind, you can clean up. For me it was building all the cabinetry in a giant grocery store chain in Texas (HEB), after they fired the previous cabinetmakers. They were over 2 months behind when I got there. I replaced a 5 man crew by myself and still made the deadline- I was a lot younger then... but the money was amazing.
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Re: Question about hourly pay

Postby Aloha » Fri Aug 25, 2017 12:15 pm

Hourly pay and how it is calculated are different by state. As far as rate of pay there are sites on line that will review pay scale for that specific job skill. What is not mentioned is benefits which can add up to 50%+ of wages. Is she covered for medical, dental, eye, retirement plan etc. That could/should be an important part of her decision making process...just my :twocents-mytwocents: :twocents-mytwocents:
Good luck
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Re: Question about hourly pay

Postby waaytoomuchintothis » Fri Aug 25, 2017 1:23 pm

Yep. That's what I wondered about after I wrote. Its been a long time, and my info is dated. My experience is in Mississippi, Louisiana, Tennessee, Kentucky, Indiana, Texas, and Virginia. And all of it before 1999, going back to 1966. So you shouldn't depend on 100% of what I know. Everything is more complex and you can't trust anyone you work for anymore.
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Re: Question about hourly pay

Postby mattb » Fri Aug 25, 2017 4:08 pm

In the many interviews I had with wage and hour people during the 40 years I worked as an hourly worker in Indiana, if I had said the boss required me to be here on my own time and not his, they would have filed a lawsuit and a fine in a NY minute. That's what you are saying that the boss requires a worker to be in the office on their own time and not on his payroll time. Actually that is ridiculous and I would tell him to stick that job! He is trying to take advantage of an uninformed worker. Of course, she might take the job and then report him to the wage and hour people.
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Re: Question about hourly pay

Postby texasleaguer » Fri Aug 25, 2017 5:04 pm

By in my younger days my buddy and I worked for the same employer. He designed the parts I welded together. He worked salary and showed up for work in a button down shirt and dress pants. I worked hr/piece work and showed up in jeans and t-shirt. His salary was based on a 40 hr week, but the employer expected 80hrs a week out of him. If he put in 79hrs he was paid for 39. Nothing he could do about it, he agreed to the deal. I on the other hand was paid by the hr, and by the piece. My rate was set. 100 percent paid 22.00 hr, 150 percent paid 33.00hr, 200 percent paid 44.00hr and so on. Under 100 percent paid day wages of 12.00hr. My buds salary was 23.00hr. In those days I was called a "meat hound" so I averaged between 32.00-37.00hr for 40 hours. It didn't take my buddy long to see he'd been screwed, but he did dress better. Bottom line is, if you're expected to report to work for 40hrs, you should be paid for 40hrs. Employers will try to get all they can.
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Re: Question about hourly pay

Postby slothead » Fri Aug 25, 2017 5:35 pm

My wife was a nurse for many years, and of course was paid by the hour for 8 hour shifts she was in the hospital. When she switched to the operating room the same was true 5 days a week, but the OR nurses also had a rotating on-call schedule. When she was on call she got paid a base 'holding salary' since all she could do was be home waiting for the phone to ring. If she got called in then her pay reverted to her regular level plus overtime percentage, like time and a half. That was up till just a few years ago.

Of course where you work and how valuable you are probably ultimately decides what an employer is going to offer, and a young person might get offered peanuts. I agree with what most of you are saying - if you have to be there you should get paid for it. I think it's work checking online to see what the local labor laws are just to know if things are legit.

Back in NY in the 80's a lot of small outfits got this great idea that instead of hiring employees everyone who worked there would become an independent contractor. It sounded good to people at first because the hourly rate went up, but the fact was now everyone had to file as self employed and do their own book work - do their own income tax deductions, pay their own FICA, and so on. And of course there were now no benefits at all - you got paid a flat rate for what you did and everything else was up to you. It turned out not to be a good deal at all and I think the state shut that down pretty quick, because people were still showing up at the same place for work and doing the same thing as before with company tools and materials. It was basically a scam to offload overhead to the employees.

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Re: Question about hourly pay

Postby WB2 » Fri Aug 25, 2017 7:43 pm

Sounds like the guy is worried about billable hours and may not have enough work to keep her busy 40 hours a week.
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Re: Question about hourly pay

Postby gaborart » Sat Aug 26, 2017 10:05 am

Unless she will have paid benefits, etc, I would suggest trying freelance graphic design.
It takes discipline and some hustle but it can be worth it! I have been an Illustrator/graphic designer for my whole career and have
spent the majority of that time as a freelance artist.

Have her check out a freelance work website called UpWork -- they have lots of people worldwide with projects that need designers.
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Re: Question about hourly pay

Postby padirtfan » Mon Sep 11, 2017 8:15 am

I've been in the print graphics business for 38 years and I've never heard of such a thing. If he's trying to manage his operating expenses he should offer her a salary based on what he can afford and she can accept or decline. Has she looked into working freelance?
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