Crap I am dealing with today

Kinja'd!!! "ImmoralMinority" (araimondo)
09/07/2019 at 14:05 • Filed to: None

Kinja'd!!!1 Kinja'd!!! 11

!!! UNKNOWN CONTENT TYPE !!!

This is the kind of case I am defending in mediation today. My client’s records show that about 10% of the time, employees clocked out for 27- 29 minutes for lunch instead of the full 30 required by law. This happens because employees miscount the number of minutes, and punch back in early. But they work on production lines that do not start again until after the full 30.

Also, California law says people get a second meal period if they work over 10 hours, but they can waive it if they work less than 12. We have a bunch of days where people did not want to take a dinner break when they worked 11 hours because they wanted to finish work and go home as early as possible. Because we did not have 1100 people sign a waiver every day (which no law requires), they say we have liability.

With all of the penalties, they claim our exposure is $80 million. It’s really about big money for the lawyers.

This is not a fun way to spend a Saturday.  I miss Toby already.


DISCUSSION (11)


Kinja'd!!! shop-teacher > ImmoralMinority
09/07/2019 at 14:21

Kinja'd!!!4

Ugh. Lawyers are the worst.


Kinja'd!!! farscythe - makin da cawfee! > ImmoralMinority
09/07/2019 at 14:29

Kinja'd!!!3

This happens because employees miscount the number of minutes, and punch back in early.

actually this happens coz management/bossmans can see when you clock and will give you shit for being a minute late


Kinja'd!!! M.T. Blake > ImmoralMinority
09/07/2019 at 14:42

Kinja'd!!!0

I work 12 hours and get no meal break. Can I get in on this? Get me paid!


Kinja'd!!! DipodomysDeserti > farscythe - makin da cawfee!
09/07/2019 at 14:55

Kinja'd!!!1

In an agricultural setting, no one is managing anything that tightly, as the manager is actually participating in some of the work as well.


Kinja'd!!! farscythe - makin da cawfee! > DipodomysDeserti
09/07/2019 at 15:15

Kinja'd!!!1

if theres a lawsuit going about it..someone clearly is managing that tightly

otherwise there’d be no need to clock in...or clock at all

there being clocks and a suit means someone is managing


Kinja'd!!! DipodomysDeserti > farscythe - makin da cawfee!
09/07/2019 at 15:18

Kinja'd!!!0

Quite the opposite.

If someone was managing it tightly then everyone would have had at least thirty minutes of lunch and there would have been waivers signed for the second break.

Someone wasn’t managing it tightly which allowed a lawyer to step in and file a lawsuit.

I doubt anyone working at the farm was wearing a suit. 


Kinja'd!!! Highlander-Datsuns are Forever > ImmoralMinority
09/07/2019 at 15:21

Kinja'd!!!1

Nope, sorry you can’t go back to work, your 30 minutes are not up yet. 


Kinja'd!!! farscythe - makin da cawfee! > DipodomysDeserti
09/07/2019 at 15:25

Kinja'd!!!0

im not sure i follow

over here workers will take every minute of break they can get....if early clocking happens that means theres a punishment for clocking late

but also...... if its not disgruntled workers sueing and management works along

who the fuck is sueing?


Kinja'd!!! DipodomysDeserti > farscythe - makin da cawfee!
09/07/2019 at 15:46

Kinja'd!!!1

Suffice it to say that agricultural work in California is a whole lot different than any sort of work in Europe.

These are mostly all immigrant workers (from places like Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador, and Mexico, not places like England), so they’re trying to get as many hours in a possible. Most of them would forgo a break entirely if it was up to them (because they aren’t getting paid).

Under California law, they have to take a thirty minute break. Their managers weren’t watching them very closely, so many of them were shorting their breaks. A more stringent manager would have made sure they clocked out for thirty, because it opens the business up to a lawsuit if they don’t (the burden is on the employer to ensure workers get at least a thirty minute break, not the employee).

There’s an entire industry in America built upon lawyers suing businesses. All it takes is one guy finding out workers somewhere have been clocking out early. He tells them they can make money if they sue their employee, and boom, you’ve got a lawsuit.

My family used to own a print shop. We got threatened with a lawsuit after I let someone use our employee bathroom because they noticed it wasn’t wheelchair accessible. It wasn’t wheelchair accessible because it is impossible to run a printing press if you’re in a wheelchair. To avoid a lawsuit we had to pay to move the toilette over four inches and install a bar.

America is weird. We can shoot the shit out of each other, but will get sued if we don’t follow all these weird laws.


Kinja'd!!! farscythe - makin da cawfee! > DipodomysDeserti
09/07/2019 at 15:53

Kinja'd!!!0

okay...its all kinds of fucked up theres an industry built upon lawyers suing businesses for trivial shit like that..

but thank you for the splainer

you are right.. its nothing like that here


Kinja'd!!! Azrek > ImmoralMinority
09/07/2019 at 19:30

Kinja'd!!!0

I love this movie...best part is the Lawyer Town