ECN Forum Forums General Topics of the Trade General Discussion Area Job Clock

Rewired, my employer tried pulling the come in at 7:30 but you don't go on the clock until 8. It only took one mention that "the state labor does not agree with that policy" at a technician meeting before it went away.

We have hand written, or typed, time sheets, which are turned in bi-weekly and they have to be matched up to your job tickets. We have to write a ticket for every day with time in and time out, the guys on service have to have the tickets signed.

It seems that most companies do not have a problem with you putting 8:00 on your time sheet when you really got there at 8:05 or 8:10, as long as you get the job done and don't cause problems for the company.

All the guys in the field also take the trucks home at night. If management wants to check up on your times, they can pull the ez-pass reports, and there have been times where somebody was called into the office because of a discrepancy. 'How were you on site at 8:00 when your ez-pass shows you going through the Lincoln tunnel at 9:00...'

We work 7:00am to 3:30pm as do all the other trades at this jobsite except for the....err...hispanic form crew. However company policy states that at the stroke of 7:00am you will be at your work location with your checked out tools, ladders, personal tools, and ready to work.

Every single one of the guys working on-site signed several different forms during thier employment screening, assignment to the job, and arrival at the job agreeing to this. Since I am lead for my floor they expect me to enforce this, in fact they are threatening to write me up for failure to produce write-ups against my crew.

Now how does this work in real life?....yes you have to be there by 6:30 and I have to be there even earlier. No I am not getting paid and neither are you, but you better by-god be up on a ladder and working at 7:00am. Is this unfair?...not really in this case since my company gives free basic medical/dental/eyecare to all employees. Along with paid vacation/PTO time and other unheard of benefits in floridas ridiculously competitive non-union "right-to-work" state atmosphere.

Your pay is also considerably higher than that offered by all of the residential and service companies, and noticeably better than any of the other local commercial companies. Why?...because we only do the "mega-project" jobs; we want professionals and expect you to act like one.

Is it a violation of the labor laws to actually expect the person to perform the 8 hours of work he is being paid for? Personally I don't think so...you should be ready to work when your shift starts not three floors below just signing in.

All that being said I am a proffessional and my current crew is all the same now that a few have been weeded out. I don't yell and scream; I remark, cajole, and banter. I don't ask anyone to "bust thier a**", all I want is consistant continueous progress. Morale is great and the floor is also going great.

But....I am not produceing the expected number of write-ups for policy violations especially compared to the floors immediately above and below me. I have tried the "I have a great crew" defense but it apparently isn't going to wash. What the heck do you do when your employer demands that you write up a great employee because he didn't actually show up at the job until his start time once or twice a week over a few months?....

I'm at a loss on this one.....

I'll bite and try my best. I have never worked in FLA so I am not familiar with any of the labor laws.

Folks working in a high rise have to be at their desk at what ever time their suppose to be, not in the lobby. This means that they likly traveled from outter parts of the city, try to find parking or taxi, cram in to 1 of more elevators to be at their desk actively working. I do not think they are compensated. I have had a union job and we did not get travel time. Two hours hours one way and had to be there by 7am. It was layed out during my interview. What they did not layout, I asked, I accepted I leave at 5 am to be at work by 7

Like it or not, you are a supervisor. I can not suggest how to superviser nor do I have a clue on your employer practices. As a supervisor, you are resonsible for everything that happens and don't happen in you area of responsibility. This includes the enforce of company policy. If you are new at supervising it is a hard thing especially if you came up through the ranks because your are now supervising former co-workers. You want to be their friend and they think they can kick back and get away with things since you are in charge. A true co-worker will support you and you are expected to deliver to you employer what you are expected of. It is not a easy transistion. It is harder then many people thinks.

Some employers give a bump in pay for the hourly foremans and supervisors. It is right to to have a person work for free? No. Supervising is not a 9 to 5 job. Sit you people down, call it a safety briefing and give them the 411. Tell them that both you and they got a job to do and in a certain manner. If soemone needs a little exrea talking to, take them aside and be professional about it.

With top pay and top benies, what is wrong acting professional. You are considered a professional and you are paid like one.

I agree

Sounds like teamwork

Does you company have a quota requirements of write ups or they are assuming you numbers do not reflect the other floors so you are slacking? Being a great employee is not an excuse to be late for work. Being late a couple time a week every week is unacceptable. Granted I would look at it case by case basis. Work with the person and apparently the front office is aware of the problem so you and him are putting your job on the line. A true great employee will not do that to the team. When a company has policies that are not followed and enforced, this can create problems for everyone else. It will be difficult to enforce the policies with other employees that is hurting for disiplinary action. It can hurt moral and can create job hazards. Your employer can and sounds like they are going to disipline someone for the person's tardiness. I do not know the persons story. Ask youself, you as his supervisor, if you can not address the tardiness, are you willing to recieve disiplinary action for the someone who can not get there on time while the rest of your crew can?

Dear Friends,
My personal opinions have changed back and forth over the 34 years in this trade. I have seen more than enough from both sides of the isle. I have been in a supervisory role for over 15 years. I am now disabled and cannot work. I have primarily worked in the industrial field since I moved from Florida to South Carolina. While in Fl. I also worked the mega union type jobs out of local 349 Miami.
The reason for the statements I made are from experience. Wether I am right or wrong, is up to you. Not me. I just write my opinion. If I contradict myself, I ask that you to bring it to my attention, which has been done.....Sincerely John Valdes

The "JOB CLOCK" gives no indication of what it is clocking, and can be and has been wrong, but the employee has no knowledge of this untill their pay is wrong. I have no problems with a time clock, but not one that gives no indication to the employee of what is being recorded. In this latest incident at my company, the foremans word that the clock was wrong was excepted, the foreman being me.