Hey,
The US District Attorney in Los Angeles, CA has opened a
grand jury investigation in the use of independant
contractors in professional sports. The suit claims that
federal minimum wage standards are being circumvented, by
incorrectly listing the status of athletes in various
sports, including cyclists registered with UCI Division 3
Trade Teams. 15th Circuit Court Judge Walter Thompson is
expected to hear testimony on Friday April 9th, 2004.
Looks like 12k dreamers on 3rd divison 'pro' teams are
screwed. Another example of the man keeping them down.
Good Luck Children. Ronde Chumpion
GETTING STARTED
Some companies take advantage of young workers' eagerness
By JULIE CLAIRE DIOP Your Money staff reporter
Posted April 4, 2004
Humorists make a career of mocking incompetent bosses. But
sometimes mismanagement isn't funny, it's illegal. And it
hurts working people.
In fiscal year 2003, the U.S. Department of Labor collected
$213 million in back wages on behalf of 342,358 employees.
And these are only the violations that the government
learned about.
The Fair Labor Standards Act governs the payment of wages.
Any employee who works for a company--including a not-for-
profit company--involved in interstate commerce is protected
by it. Buying paper clips across state lines can constitute
interstate commerce, according to Alan Koral, a partner at
Price, Vedder, Kaufman & Kammholz in New York.
One way unscrupulous companies (or, giving them the benefit
of the doubt, ignorant companies) cheat younger workers is
by wrongly classifying them as interns or contract
employees.
Interns, which the Department of Labor classifies as
"trainees" or as students in "school-to-work" programs,
don't count as employees. Neither do independent
contractors.
To classify workers as trainees and not employees, six
conditions must be met. They cannot displace regular
employees, for example, and their employers can receive "no
immediate advantage" from the trainees' activities.
Students in school-to-work programs also cannot displace
regular employees. Yet it's commonplace for employers to
rely on motivated interns as much as they do on full-time
employees, and thereby reduce their payrolls.
Employers do not have to offer independent contractors the
same benefits that they do to employees because, the
theory is, they are merely one purchaser of the
contractor's services.
Employers break the law, however, when they hire someone as
an independent contractor yet treat that person the same way
they treat their employees. Again, six criteria determine if
an independent contractor is really independent. The
overriding one, according to Needham, Mass.-based employment
lawyer Vivian Hsu, is the "control" test. The more control
an employer has over a worker, the more likely the worker
should be compensated as an employee.
Questions to ask: Who decides on the hours worked? Who sets
the pay? Does the person have other clients?
Other factors the government looks at include the permanency
of the employer-worker relationship, whether the worker has
special skills or performs routine tasks, and how integral
the person's services are to the employer's business.
The FLSA site (www.dol.gov/elaws/esa/flsa/scope/ee13.asp) is
thorough and easy to follow. If you suspect your employer is
violating federal law, the site will help you understand
what is and is not allowed. If you feel you need additional
information, call the contact numbers for your local wage
and hour divisions, listed on the site. An employment lawyer
can also be very helpful.
Straightening out a problem can be as easy as informing your
employer what the act says. Unfortunately, it can also be
contentious, and in some cases can cost you your job.
You may succeed in getting yourself on the payroll and then
be fired by a boss who has had enough of your trouble. Most
employees are employed "at-will," which in the broadest
sense means that they work at the will of their employers.
About minimum wage
The federal minimum wage is $5.15. Most states have their
own minimum-wage laws, and an employer subject to both
the state and federal minimum-wage laws must pay the
higher of the two.
Only a few types of employees don't have to be paid minimum
wage. They include workers on small farms and seamen on
foreign vessels. An employer of a worker who regularly
receives more than $30 a month in tips is only required to
pay $2.13 an hour in direct wages if that amount plus the
tips received equals at least the federal minimum wage.
A special minimum wage of $4.25 an hour applies to employees
under the age of 20 during their first 90 days of
employment. After that, they must be paid the full federal
minimum wage.
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E-mail Julie Claire Diop at [email hidden].