Billable time & required time in the office?
My boyfriend recently took a job doing ITS, website management, and website design work. He was told he would be paid $10 an hour for the ITS/website managment stuff and $20 and hour for any of the design work. They mentioned billable time, which he was against because before when he was working out of the home as a contractor he was making around $800 a week and if they require him to be in the office from 9-5 (often later) then he felt he should be paid for the time he was there. They said they wouldn't do billable time and he started. They did record his billable hours, but he figured this was for the customer, so they knew how much to charge the customer. However, he is working well over 40 hours a week for the past two weeks and the first week he received $198 and the second $250. Can they pay him billable time without telling him so? More importantly, can his employers require him to be at the workplace for a 8 hours or more a day and not pay him for time they require him to be there? Thank you so much!
1 answer | asked Dec 17, 2005 11:17 AM [EST] | applies to Tennessee
Answers (1)
I will give you a great lawyer's answer to your question, "it depends." To answer your question I need to know more information. Is he a W-2 employee or independent contractor? What kind of work does he perform? How often is he paid? I would also like to see his pay check stub.
Without knowing that information and other information it is impossible to be definitive, however generally speaking if your boyfriend is an employee rather than independent contractor they should pay him for all hours he is at the premises and available to work. There are exceptions to that rule that may apply. He may also be entitled to overtime compensation if he works more than 40 hours a week. There are a number of factors to consider before you could make that determination. I would encourage your friend to contact my office for a free consultation to see if he has a claim for back pay and to possibly get his employer to change the way he is compensated. My phone number is 901.683.1850.
posted by Alan Crone | Dec 19, 2005 1:36 PM [EST]
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