Re: Exempt status for Tech Writers

[Ed <glassnet -at- gmail -dot- com>]

Very well said, Stephen.

My own experience with exempt status is mixed. My salary is about 25%
lower than hourly wage paid to temporary writers brought in last year.
On one hand I have two weeks vacation. On the other hand I have 10
sick days, which I must offset with additional hours worked. In each
of the last three years there has been a small but noticeable decline
in benefits.

One troubling trend is that the employer bills the gov't for hours
booked over 40, but you don't get the money. Ethically I have a
problem with that. I think that is a good example of why technical
writers should be classified as non-exempt.

In the final analysis, I have a job in the defense industry, and the
temporary writers in our office have gone elsewhere. I am thankful for
that.

Ed

On Tue, Feb 24, 2009 at 9:46 AM, Stephen Arrants
<steve -at- mbfbioscience -dot- com> wrote:
> No one is saying that occasional overtime--staying late to make sure the
> changes get in, working a weekend because the print deadline in Monday
> 9am--must be compensated down to the last penny and the last minute. But
> employers who abuse this, who expect 60-hour weeks, then 70-hour weeks,
> and more need to be brought to heel. Suffer as loudly as *you* want,
> working 20 or 30 hours more with no extra pay. Just remember that even
> if you aren't "hourly", every hour over 40 brings down the hourly rate
> that calculates your pay.
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