Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE: Overtime Pay

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Topic: Overtime Pay

Dan Suomi
Film Handler

Posts: 53
From: Aurora/Oswego, IL
Registered: Jul 2004

posted 08-26-2004 03:41 PM

I was just reading some of the new overtime rules and one thing really came to my suprise. Employees of motion picture theaters are exempt from from overtime pay and minimum wage. What's the deal with that? Sounds like a load of [bs]

to me

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David Stambaugh
Film God

Posts: 4021
From: Eugene, Oregon
Registered: Jan 2002

posted 08-26-2004 04:14 PM

From Here

quote:
If you routinely exercise discretion, supervise other employees and/or make high-level decisions, you are probably an exempt employee who is not entitled to overtime pay.

In addition, if you engage in one of the following professions, you probably aren't entited to overtime:

outside salespeople
independent contractors
certain computer specialists, including computer system analysts, programmers, and software engineers, provided they are paid at least $27.63 per hour
employees of seasonal amusement or recreational businesses
farmworkers
transportation workers
newspeople
employees of motion picture theaters
commissioned employees of retail or service businesses, if their regular rate of pay is more than one and a half times the minimum wage and more than half their pay comes from commissions.

If you don't supervise others or make important decisions for your company, and if you don't fit into one of the professions described above, then you are probably entitled to overtime if you work more than 40 hours in a week or, in some states, more than eight hours in a day.

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Paul Mayer
Oh get out of it Melvin, before it pulls you under!

Posts: 3836
From: Albuquerque, NM
Registered: Feb 2000

posted 08-26-2004 04:19 PM

Welcome to the club. Transportation workers are also exempt from federal minimum wage and overtime rules. In my case, the airlines fall under the federal Railway Labor Act. It's why traditionally pilots building flight time at commuter or regional carriers get paid less than minimum wage. Again in my case at Scenic as a full-time (6-day work week) first officer on the DHC-6 in 1992, the salary was $900 per month, $1100 per month if you had an ATP certificate (which I didn't have at the time).

It's called "paying your dues."

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Wolff King Morrow
Master Film Handler

Posts: 490
From: Denton, TX, USA
Registered: Feb 2004

posted 08-27-2004 04:31 AM

Maybe we should delete these posts before theater executives find out! [Eek!]

Edit: BTW, theater employees still qualify for minimum wage, just not overtime pay according to the act.

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Brian Michael Weidemann
Expert cat molester

Posts: 944
From: Costa Mesa, CA United States
Registered: Feb 2004

posted 08-27-2004 04:53 AM

I think, technically, I supervise others. And, as far as I'm concerned, I DO make decisions that affect the company (ie: I'm explicitly deciding NOT to throw a wrench into the projector today) ... but since I'm an "hourly" employee, I get all the overtime I can (unless my superiors come up to me and tell me to start clocking out SOMETIME around when I was scheduled to leave [Razz]

)

No, all kidding aside, I only scrape up couch-cushions' worth of OT, but in theory, it's the nature of my job to be "on call", so if something goes wrong with the system (and if I do my job properly, it doesn't), I get called, come in, clock in, and the OT starts adding up, despite what ANYONE can say about it!

That's why it's nice to be the only employee "in house" who knows how and can do certain things. [Big Grin]

Two words: Job Security.

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Joe Redifer
You need a beating today

Posts: 12859
From: Denver, Colorado
Registered: May 99

posted 08-27-2004 06:41 AM

People who want or expect to be paid overtime are lousy whining losers! They should work for free and love it! I just can't understand why some people expect to be compensated for the extra work they do! What do they think this is? America?

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Darryl Spicer
Film God

Posts: 3250
From: Lexington, KY, USA
Registered: Dec 2000

posted 08-27-2004 09:36 AM

Apparently in our state theatres are not exempt from the overtime issue. The company I used to work for years ago got in trouble by the state for not paying overtime. Basically it boils down to if you don't have a good reason for giving it don't have people working over 40 hours unless it is unavoidable.

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Dustin Mitchell
Phenomenal Film Handler

Posts: 1865
From: Mondovi, WI, USA
Registered: Mar 2000

posted 08-27-2004 01:37 PM

Most state have passed a law to cut out that exemption. Only 13 states haven't, Wisconsin being one of them.

Remember, when state and federal law come into conflict the more restrictive law takes precedent.

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Brad Miller
Administrator

Posts: 17775
From: Plano, TX (36.2 miles NW of Rockwall)
Registered: May 99

posted 08-27-2004 01:41 PM

Dustin, do you have a list, or perhaps a link?

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Dustin Mitchell
Phenomenal Film Handler

Posts: 1865
From: Mondovi, WI, USA
Registered: Mar 2000

posted 08-27-2004 01:49 PM

No, I only know that information from talking to the Paryroll Department at my company.

This new Fair Pay stuff is a little confusing at the moment. Some people have told me that Fair Pay actually removes the exemption for theatre employees, while this thread seems to indicate its still there.

I think we need a lawyer.

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David Stambaugh
Film God

Posts: 4021
From: Eugene, Oregon
Registered: Jan 2002

posted 08-27-2004 04:05 PM

Looks like in Oregon, theater workers are exempt from overtime laws, but not minimum wage laws. I think minimum wage in Oregon is now something like $7.05/hr.

Oregon Wage Law (it's a PDF).

Table of state-by-state min. wage laws here.

Edit: I should point out that I don't know if any of this stuff I've posted is now obsolete under the new regulations...

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Jason Black
Phenomenal Film Handler

Posts: 1723
From: Myrtle Beach, SC, USA
Registered: Nov 2000

posted 08-27-2004 09:17 PM

Overtime laws and minimum wage laws would vary from state to state, as Dustin pointed out. This has been a long standing thorn in my side, along with no paying time/half for holidays.

At any rate, South carolina is one of the states that allows for the OT exclusion. North Carolina used to avoid OT until an employee at the now closed UA 6-plex (College Road location) voiced his opinion to an attorney who pursued it to the state appealate court level. The outcome yielded that theatre employees were NOT exempt from being paid OT and, as such, effectively were no longer allowed, by newly implemented company policy, to work more than 39 hours in a week.

At any rate, I'm not eligible and nither are any of my staff. New policy is, however, that all MIT's are not worked over 40 hours for any reason. We are directed, however, to notify them in no uncertain terms that a GM position requires a general minimum of 50+ hours a week without fail.

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Aaron Mehocic
Jedi Master Film Handler

Posts: 804
From: New Castle, PA, USA
Registered: Jun 99

posted 08-27-2004 11:03 PM

Yes the lack of overtime pay is wrong in my opinion, but as far as I was concerned, I was just happy to be working for whatever the pay rate. What pisses me off is on holidays or weekends some non-industry-smart-ass hints that I'm just "sucking up the OT" because its available. If they only knew . . .

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Dustin Mitchell
Phenomenal Film Handler

Posts: 1865
From: Mondovi, WI, USA
Registered: Mar 2000

posted 08-27-2004 11:06 PM

The reason for that Jason is that the old law set a mininum $155/week salary (in addition to the other tests for executive, administrative, or professional employees) in order to be exempt from OT. The new rules raised the mininum salary requiremtn to $455/week.

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