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EMPLOYMENT ISSUES - OVERTIME

Ken,
    We have a few questions for you in regards to employees, hourly pay and overtime. We employ 3 men that are considered service/installation techs. We also employ 2 managers. Our managers are on salary but our techs are paid on an hourly basis.
    We have provided our techs with work vehicles to drive during work days. They drive to the office every morning using the work vehicle to get equipment for that day and their schedule. They also use the work vehicle to drive home after their last job that day.

  • When would their hours begin?
  • When they leave their house to come to the office?
  • When they arrive at the office?
  • When they leave the office?
  • When would their hours stop on a given day?
  • When they leave the job-site?
  • When they arrive back at their home?

    We have had a few instances where there has been confusion in this area. We are a small company that is growing and will be taking on more techs so we want to make sure we are clear on the hours. 
    Also, when it comes to overtime… We pay our employees bi-weekly, so if they go over 80 hours per pay period, that is when overtime begins, correct?
    We have had some red flags pop up for us in some conversations we have had with some employees in regards to the above and we want to make sure we are clear on it and that we are communicating it very clearly with our employees so that everyone is without excuse.
    Thank you for your time and feedback! Your forum is much appreciated!
MI
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RESPONSE
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    Employment laws may differ state to state and there are Federal Laws that apply as well.  Generally, hours start when the employee arrives at work, whether the work is at the office or on a job site.  Regular commuting is not included in work time.  If employees are sent to a location further than the typical office commute then they may be entitled to be paid for the extended commute.  Similarly, an employee's day ends when they leave the office or work site.  If employees are on call and provided with a company vehicle then their work day can begin when they leave their house.  Check with your local (State) Department of Labor if you're not sure.
    In all jurisdictions I have seen, overtime is over 40 hours a week.  You can avoid some confusion and disagreement by using our Employment Agreement.
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WHO SIGNS CONTRACT
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Ken,
    Say I am installing an alarm for XYZ Building Supplies.  The true owner is ABC Corp, Inc. dba XYZ Building Supplies.  Which name do I put on the contract?  Do I have to include both the Corporation name and the dba name or just one of the two?
    Who can sign it?  Does the manager that ordered the alarm system installed sign the contract, or do I have to hunt down an office of the corporation to sign it?
Christine 
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RESPONSE
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    You can use the corporate name or the DBA.  Best way would be ABC Corp dba XYZ.
    Any officer or manager is authorized to sign.  Try and get a title of the person signing and have them put it on the contract.  It's good practice to get confirmation from the "home office" so that it knows that a contract was entered into.  In our collection practice we come across corporate subscribers [individual too] who claim they didn't know about a contract.  They admit that they knew the alarm was installed and that they received invoices which were paid, but didn't know the contract was signed or its terms.  This comes up when we are trying to enforce a long term agreement.  If the person signing really didn't have the authority to sign on behalf of the subscriber its going to be difficult to enforce the contract, especially if you don't have some confirmation from the corporate office that it knew about the contract.  One way to deal with this other than confirming with the home office the signer's authority (in writing) is to put language on your invoice "charges pursuant to written agreement dated XXX"  or something similar.
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