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Serving Over 20,000 US Medical Transcriptionists

You can go on line and get the Federal

Posted By: sm on 2008-11-26
In Reply to: IC and Taxes - Shelly

forms from the IRS. I never did state, they were never that much anyway.


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Uh, are you sure about Federal? sm
This may depend entirely on the MTSO, but as an SE with MQ, they did in fact withhold federal taxes for me, (but not state taxes.)
So, a federal law
for payment of overtime only applies to whatever hours the facility or company defines as overtime; not all based on a 40-hour week?
It is a federal offense
If the federal government checks the time the employee is producing work from the company software instead of the falsified time sheet and finds it is consistent across the board, the company will definitely be in a huge amount of hot water.  I don't work for them and never have.  I have my own small company with just me and two more employees, but if this is going on, the employees would have a firm case.  They should also document the calls or even record them when they are called to work extra.  Just my two cents.  I hope this helps. 
If you are an employee, they have federal
guidelines to follow to ensure you make at least minimum wage and to reference for overtime purposes.

Clocking in/out does not necessarily mean a loss of flexibility. It does mean some accountability, though.

Your federal ID is just your SS number.
I am not an IC at Transcend, but I do some IC work in my local area. All I needed for this was to get a business license in my city of residence, for a home-based business. It costs me $26 a year, but I'm sure that will vary widely depending on where you live. (And that fee is tax-deductible.)

That's all it takes to become an 'established company,' to the best of my knowledge. Instead of a W2 at tax time you get a 1099.

Just call your city hall and ask them how to get a license to set up a home-based business.

If you have a home-based business you can write off all your computer equipment and repairs, and if your accountant is savvy enough, you can even take the home office tax deduction. Mine told me that is no longer an audit red flag because so many people are telecommuting now.
Federal Trade Commission ........ nm
ss
Do they take out for all taxes or just the Federal and you pay your own local? nm
s
WHY NOT MAIL THEM COPY OF FEDERAL....SM
and labor board guidelines regarding employment of independent contractors and the difference between IC and employment status.  They cannot have it both ways...have their cake and eat it, too.  They don't want to pay taxes, Soc Sec,  and benefits for MTs.....but they still want the same control over the MT.  Same mentality of most MTSO's....insulting our common sense & intelligence bec. they've soooooooo smart and we're are, collectively, soooooooo dumb!                            
Several years ago, they passed a federal law
That law says that companies with over a certain number of employees have to provide advance notice (I thought it was 30 days, but maybe it's 60 days, I dunno)before just closing up shop and doing mass layoffs.

I do NOT think that law would apply to smaller transcription MTSOs with fewer than 50 employees or so.

It would absolutely apply to Medquist, though!
I google federal layoff law. sm
http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=federal+layoff+notice+law&aq=f&oq=

Can click open articles.

Companys should at least be reported to the Federal labor department so those coming up from behind. Sadly people need to be MADE to be decent to their fellow humans
SE doesn't take out federal and state taxes, only
x
Heartlanders-find a Federal resource to help

Although my job has not been displaced, I can emphasize with your predicament.  I have seen the decline in pay and benefits as a direct result of offshoring and only being able to find a job with a MTSO who stands against offshoring by sacrificing about 30% of what I had just 3 years ago.  Now I have custody of a 2 yo and because I make just barely above the 200% poverty level, I do not qualify for goverment benefits that I have been paying into for the past 30 years; however, because of certain federal funds being administered differently at the discretion of different states, I could move to a different state and the 200% limit would not apply to me!


In researching what benefits ARE available to me, I found the website I have linked below.  There are benefits available to persons who have lost their jobs to offshoring but I would like to point out one thing:


ONE of the programs requires that at least 3 OR MORE persons having been affected apply for the benefit.  So please for the sake of each of you that are going through your own crises, band together so each of you can find a solution that works for your own needs.  Please leave the ability to email each other in your posts so you can network.  You need each other's support now more than ever!  Find out what you CAN do for yourselves and for each other.  What have you been paying taxes for all this time?  You deserve whatever benefits you can obtain...you have already PAID for them!


 


Here's The Federal Law on Mass Layoff Notice
http://www.doleta.gov/programs/factsht/warn.htm
This only pertains to federal health programs
Like VA. It says if the MTSO is paid with federal money, then they are subject to all these things.
ANY federal money - included Medicare and almost
I could be wrong, but I read it to mean ANY federal money which includes Medicare/Medicaid, and there are probably not too many hospitals, clinics, or private doctor's offices that do not have at least 1 Medicare/Medicaid patient.  Seems to me they would not be too worried about all the listed countries for off-shoring if it was only VA, since there was already a big stink about off-shoring VA records.  But then, as I said, I could be reading it wrong.  I guess only time will tell. 
Overtime is calculated in Elabor, in compliance with federal law....
We enter our hours into Elabor each day, and OT is calculated. Right now, with a slow workload, I doubt overtime is approved. As a matter of fact, it is not approved.
Does your MTSO take out all federal/state employee taxes? nm
nm
MTSOs have a unique loophole in the FMLA Federal

MTSOs have a unique loophole.  I got caught up in it a couple of years ago when trying to use medical leave for my personal medical illness. 


Here are the Federal Requirements:


 


 EMPLOYEE ELIGIBILITY


To be eligible for FMLA benefits, an employee must:


• work for a covered employer;


• have worked for the employer for a total of 12 months;


• have worked at least 1,250 hours over the previous 12 months; and


• work at a location in the United States or in any territory or possession of the United States where at least 50 employees are employed by the employer within 75 miles.


 


The loophole for MTSOs is the last one …”50 employees… within 75 miles.”  MTSOs can interpret that to mean “50 employees who WORK FOR SPHERIS” within 75 miles of EACH OTHER.  So, if you live in the middle of Wyoming, there may not be 50 employees within a 75 mile radius of your home.  Thus, the loophole, which some MTSOs actually do use.


HOWEVER, some employees do have a counter-loophole.  States also have FMLA requirements, and the State that you live in supersedes Federal requirements.  In my case my Sate does not have the “75 mile radius” requirement, so after I contacted my MTSO and informed them of that, they backed down and approved all the leave I wanted.


Check out your State requirements to see if they are different.  If they are not, if you can survive with 6 weeks and want to keep your job, I would not rock-the-boat any further.  Personally, I would use those 6 weeks to find another employer who is more employee friendly, if there are any left out there. 


Good Luck and Congratulations on the new Baby. 


 


To be independent at Transcend, have to have own company established and federal ID number?
I guess that about tells it all, does it not? In other words not just the required 8 hour weekend but also you have to have established company. I wonder how many fit under that category?
A line is a line is a line. Doesn't matter if we are talking about radiology or acute care.

1600 is not a fair minimum requirement.  Sure you can achieve 1600, it shouldn't be the required minimum.


Means a line is a line is a line, even if it only has one word on the line
it is considered a line. 
Not state by state, federal labor law - sm
and you don't have to be asked. If you work it, asked or not, they have to pay time and a half OT rate for hours worked over 40 in a week.

Taken right from U.S. Dept of Labor -
An employer who requires or PERMITS an employee to work overtime is generally required to pay the employee premium pay for such overtime work. Employees covered by the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA)MUST receive overtime pay for hours worked in excess of 40 in a workweek of at least one and one-half times their regular rates of pay. The FLSA does not require overtime pay for work on Saturdays, Sundays, holidays, or regular days of rest.

Extra pay for working weekends or nights is a matter of agreement between the employer and the employee (or the employee's representative). The FLSA does not require extra pay for weekend or night work or double time pay.

"a line is a line" means gross line.
Gross line is a line, no matter how long or short.
Yes to old reports! Their ExText has all the regular functions except line counts are done on line
s
Thanks for the info! Do you *feel* like you make more with a gross line v. character line? (nm)

Oh, they make money off us. Line rate is 17 cents a gross line.nm
z
Keystrokes has very few accts on line using ExText. Most use Cphones/2nd line. Lots of Rad
s
Could someone help me with the figuring out of gross line versus character line? sm
I have generally been paid by character line, 65-character line.  Now, I have had job opportunities offering to pay gross line but it like 3 cents cheaper than what I am being paid now.  A few places I have read that gross line is MUCH better, but is it much better if the pay is so much lower?  Please explain how it works or equals out.  This position has offered me 6 cents per gross line - what would that equal out to in character lines?  Thanks...so confused...
Spaces are not taken into account with gross lines....a line is a line...sm

if there seven words on a line.


or two


one


or a full line of typing...all of the companies that I have worked for define a gross line as 1 inch margins, 12 pt courier font....does not matter what we type in margins or font.....we convert all reports to the 1 inch margins and courier 12 font and then count the lines.  not the blank spaces between the lines.


Hope this helps.


I left MQ for TT. The base line rate was less at TT, but overall I make more per line with the
shift differential (I work second shift) and the incentive plan (I have never once failed to make at least an extra half cent per line on incentives - most of the time a penny). I was scared to death to make that move, as I had been with MQ since back in the Transcriptions Limited days. I have to say, though, that it was the best career move I have ever made and I have never, not once, regretted it.

I hope that was of some help.
15 years ago, I charged .22 per line to big accounts. Now I have been forced down to .13 per line.
This is in part due to offshore companies, in part due to newbies coming in and underbidding to get an account but not being able to service it and then the account expecting everyone else to meet that price. The market is being driven down by many forces, and it is not pretty. I used to pay .14 per line (gross line too) and now pay my subs 0.08. It is not something I wanted to do, but something that was necessary. With only 15 MTs, I feel the squeeze more than some of the big companies out there, but cannot grow and keep up the same standards.

Healthcare in general is not the money-maker it once was, and transcription has taken a hard hit over the years.
Line counts - the lower the line count requirements
the harder the account and problems with trying to get production off the platform the company uses.
I see they pay on a VBC line. Isn't that a huge paycut from a 65-char. line with spaces? nm
x
Actually, SBC does allow it. I had my line changed to a business line and talked with a sm
supervisor who okayed it.  As long as I am listening to voice files, and not one computer talking to another, faxing, etc., it is within their guidelines.  :-)
Ask what is a line. I was offered 6 clp for a 42 black character line sm
that seemed to strange, but really it was not so bad.  Came out pretty close to a 65 k/s line at 8.5 to 9.
They must deduct FEDERAL taxes.. NOT STATE taxes.. if they took out state taxes.. it would be FLORID
which would only have to be refunded to you for you to pay YOUR state what you owe them which is nothing but a pain... be glad they weren't handling your state tax.. and I think in this case.. if someone at the IRS told you they have to deduct YOUR states taxes.. it is that person who is uneducated... they only have to deduce federal income tax

Line By Line...... any info on this company?
Thanks!
Any info on Line By Line Transciprion?? nt
x
Any info on Line By Line Transcription please???nt

x


A gross line is any line that has a character on it, so even if

a line just has one character on it, it is considered a line.   If you are getting 6 cpl per gross that is approximately equal to 8 cpl based on 65 characters.  Sometimes the font on a gross line can make it be less than that though. 


NEVER believe the company line. Do line count for yourself.
p
Line by Line Transcription....anyone have any info?
Thanks!!!
I don't have a second phone line ... cable modem for the internet, regular line for my C-phone.

If anyone wanst to get through to me while I'm working, they have my cell phone number.


And, as I said, some accounts are using wav files -- no doubt soon all of the accounts will convert.  Hope so ... would make it easier (less expensive) to work when traveling.  :-)



Lots of good companies out there -- hope you find one that fits :)


 


 


WMX - line count. Was working along and noted line count accumulation (sm)

signed off the report I was typing.  Those lines didn't add immediately, but sometimes they do that.  What concerns me is that when I signed that job off and the next one came up, not only were the other lines not added in but they were LESS than they were before I signed off previous job.


I thought I noticed this happening the other day, but figured I just wasn't paying attention.  Today I definitely noticed it.  For some reason it changed it's mind and took 8 lines off my line count.  What the heck? 


Am not really ecstatic with the way things are going anyway  and then this confuses me. 


Please, someone have a realistic explanation so I don't feel paranoid and cheated here. 


Line by Line out of Texas. NM
Nm
QA pay is 0.015 per line; yes, 1-1/2 pennies per line. No thanks. nm
x
They pay per net line not per gross line..sm
I work on Escription and they pay net line, all characters counted on entire document and divided by 65 to get one line count. 
Bottom line: What does it pay per line?
.
A gross line is not based on characters. A gross line is
anything on the line constitutes a line, so if you only have 1 word on a line it is still counted as a line.   A gross line at 8 cpl roughly translates to 10 cpl/65 character. 
Then company should set line count per day with incentives for above that. If get line count done
:[
is the VR line rate 60% of the regular typing line rate?
s