Certain habits and routines are what often contribute highly to our efficiency; however, some of them might turn out to be no longer effective, illegal, or simply immoral, and only people who dare to step up and point out the need to change them can contribute to making the world a better place. This Redditor shared an example from her workplace, where the practice of unpaid working hours was considered the norm, which she refused to accept.
More info: Reddit
A new supervisor refused to impose any amount of unpaid work for technicians under her
Image credits: Max Rahubovskiy (not the actual photo)
The supervisor was told that technicians had to set up 15 minutes in advance, but were not paid for it
Image credits: LePetitRenardRoux
Image credits: Jonathan Cutrer (not the actual photo)
Image credits: LePetitRenardRoux
Another supervisor rationalized it saying the technicians should be grateful they get to work in the clinic
Image credits: Nicolás Boullosa (not the actual photo)
Image credits: LePetitRenardRoux
Having worked as a technician for 9 years, the woman refused to enforce the rule unless the employees are paid for their time
Image credits: wp paarz (not the actual photo)
Image credits: LePetitRenardRoux
Image credits: Sora Shimazaki (not the actual photo)
The woman shared with the Reddit community, that it was a long road for her to become a supervisor, as she was working in the field as a technician for 9 years, therefore she is familiar with some enduring issues in the field.
Being relatively new at her current workplace, as she has been working at this clinic for 8 months now, the woman shared that she really likes it there, but there recently was an incident where she felt she had to stand up for the employees under her.
During a PowerPoint presentation, she was told that technicians should arrive at the clinic and set up for their session 15 minutes before their session is scheduled to begin. The woman agreed it to be best practice, but she was told that technicians are not paid for it.
While another supervisor tried to rationalize it, saying that technicians should be happy they get to work in the clinic, after finding out that these 15 minutes are not paid, the supervisor refused to enforce the rule unless the employees are going to be paid for their time.
The woman’s boss agreed with her and said she would take it up the ladder. She then shared with Redditors that she spent 9 years in poverty as a technician, which was mostly due to having few working hours. However, she added to the point that many people have been exploited with unpaid labor in the past, and to some, it doesn’t occur that what happened to them was not okay then or now.
The woman explained the exploitation problem in the field, as for some people, it doesn't occur to them that it was not okay then or now
Image credits: RDNE Stock project (not the actual photo)
The woman's boss agreed with her and said she would take it up the ladder
As noted by Employment and Consumer Law Group, working “off the clock” at a certain workplace means working hours that are unpaid, excluded from the calculation of the employee’s overtime, or both, and according to U.S. labor laws, it is illegal for most employers to require their employees to perform work off the clock.
They emphasized that federal law requires employers to pay non-exempt employees for all the time the employer requires or allows an employee to work, which is considered as “permitting” the employee to work.
ECLAW listed some of the most common examples of off-the-clock labor, which included unpaid time spent preparing a worksite, setting up a restaurant or store before opening, loading or warming up delivery vehicles, or transporting work-related equipment before a shift, as well as unpaid post-shift tasks such as cleaning up, administrative tasks such as filling out paperwork, and working through unpaid breaks and mealtimes.
Redditors shared their takes on the situation
