Home     Contact Us    
Main Board Job Seeker's Board Job Wanted Board Resume Bank Company Board Word Help Medquist New MTs Classifieds Offshore Concerns VR/Speech Recognition Tech Help Coding/Medical Billing
Gab Board Politics Comedy Stop Health Issues
ADVERTISEMENT




Serving Over 20,000 US Medical Transcriptionists

IC/Overtime Court Case in Texas

Posted By: willtype4cash on 2009-03-03
In Reply to:

There is an 'opt-in' federal labor law case in the Texas courts naming a midwestern MT company as the defendant for nonpayment of OT and IC/employee status violation.  If you Google full company names, the case will come up in the results. 


Opt-in means that if someone wants to join the law suit they need to contact the defendant's lawyer or the courts.  This information is public and easy to find.  I paid only $0.64 online to get the legal papers filed with all of the contact information.


**** This thread is being locked.  All replies need to go to email. ****


 




Complete Discussion Below: marks the location of current message within thread

The messages you are viewing are archived/old.
To view latest messages and participate in discussions, select the boards given in left menu


Other related messages found in our database

If it is a court case, then it is public knowledge
x
I think if you test well they will consider you on a case by case basis without the full 5 years.
I would definitely contact them anyway.
they may be willing to make considerations on a case-by-case basis s/m
I have a couple of situations that make 8 hours straight not possible for me, and when I hired on with the company I was with who recently merged with Transcend, they worked with me to find ways that would help me be productive without hindering my physical and personal limitations.

I am not going to list specifics, but I was very impressed at how willing they were to help me and they told me that they are willing to make considerations on a case by case basis.
course not, no $, no pay. But if it goes to court......nm
n/m
I saw this tried in a court
It wasn't an MT but an ER physician who was being sued for breach of his noncompete contract.  The ruling was that he could not take any of his employers clients but according to the judge (Louisiana) to enforce the no compete to any greater extent would deprive him of his right to make a living.  He also won his counter suit asking for payment of his attorney fees to defend himself.  Don't know about other states but I would assume it would be pretty much the same.  These suits never stop trying to intimidate us do they?
court
As you said you know this will not hold up in court. So sign the paper, get your money, and find another job. Honestly, I do not think they will be hunting you down for the next 12 months to see what you are doing. Obvisouly, this pay is not even covering 12 months of unemployement so what do they think you are going to do. It is not like your a cashier at Walmart (nothing wrong with that) just saying that you have to be trained in the MT field and tht if you went out of the field for a year you would have a hard time finding a company that would take you back. Please let us know what you decide.
When a hospital gets fed up with going to court

rethink if cheap is the way to go in the case of medical records.


It's no fun to go to court on malpractice cases and have inaccurate and incomplete records.  You look like a fool and it makes it look like you are even more guilty than you may have been.  I have seen it from the side of the medical affairs office and talked to the people who have to go off to fight the battles in the court.  Trust me, quantity over quality is not what is needed and hospitals can't afford to lose too many of those cases before they lose accredidation.  Then the ballgame is over.


You could try court reporting (sm)
...If you're that sick of transcription.

My sister does it and makes good money.  I agree with the poster, above, though - there can be two or three people talking at the same time, some people could be hard to hear 'cuz they're really far from the microphone (a microcassette player you bring yourself).  Plus it seems like double the work - you have to go to court and type on that little ShortHand machine (oh, and you have to learn shorthand), then type the stuff out in readable form at home.  And you have to have a professional wardrobe to wear to court.  Yuck; not for me. 

She seems to like it, though.  She does have flexible hours (it depends when there's a case going on), works from home but has an office base.  She has to drive around to different court locations a lot (she might be able to deduct gas mileage).  I think she's considered an independent contractor, with all the pluses and minuses that go with that (more freedom but more taxes, pay for own insurance, etc.).
As I said in my post, I would go to court
and swear on a Bible about the goings on. In fact, I have documentation and print outs to prove back up my statement.

And to clear the air, I am by no means a disgruntled employee. I definitely MADE SOME MONEY working at the company, benefits, etc.

So before you get on your soapbox, you really should read by post again. I said I was with Healthscribe. You are with Spheris - Healthscribe joined up with Spheris, but a lot of the same people are now running Spheris. Maybe they did change their line docking - BUT AGAIN, READ MY POST - I WAS WITH HEALTHSCRIBE AND AT HEALTHSCRIBE THEY DID DOCK THE LINES IF A Transcriptionist WAS SENDING TOO MANY REPORTS TO QA.

I do not and have not worked for Spheris.
court order?
Terri Davis is gone by court order? How? Why? Such dish!

Who's the businessman running the place?

More info is needed! Totally interested now!
I know of folks who have taken a company to court and won
but still has not gotten paid to my knowlege.  If it is DT then hang in there....always have to hope for the best.
It is going to superior court. Can't wait to see what happens!
I was in total shock when I read this article. I also thought, from some of the posts on here, that they were pretty good to work for. Guess they totally screwed themselves now!
Email if you want the court papers.

All info for opting in is in those papers.  Current employees cannot be fired for opting in.


My friend is a court reporter (sm)

and she was trying to get me into scoping.  From my understanding, the court reporter does the stenographer, which then goes through their computer to turn their abbreviations into words.  Then, they send it to the person scoping.  That person then does all the profreading for them.  My friend spends lots of time proofing, so this would really help them out.


Hope this helps somewhat...


Wish I'd chosen court-reporting! -(sm)-
When I was 25, my friend & I were both going to trade school. She chose court-reporting, and tried in vain to get me to take it with her. But no, I chose MT because it was faster and I could get a job quicker.

SHOULDA', COULDA', WOULDA' !!!!

If life were on videotape, I'd rewind back to that year and make the RIGHT choice this time. Too late, now - MTs are screwed.
could lawyers have gotten a court release? NM
x
Other than through a court order!!!! Never said the info was NEVER given out at all! nm
laskdjf
IRS is the final arbiter on this unless their ruling is taken to Tax Court

Below, you'll the link to the IRS page on this question. Paste it your browser.  Or, follow the link at the bottom of the post.


As companies exert more and more control over the work, it gets harder and harder to see how most of them can take advantage of hiring people as ICs.  I think the IRS has taken their eye off this ball in recent years.


One thing of SPECIAL NOTE: On this page you will find a link to a form called SS-8, which EITHER the company or the worker can file with the IRS for an official determination of your status.


It can take awhile to get this back, but in the meantime, if you're an IC you might want to ask your company whether they have filed an SS-8 for this determination, as the IRS recommends companies that use IC's file this form.


http://www.irs.gov/businesses/small/article/0,,id=99921,00.html


My court report provided the key to her software and
yes, you are IC and basically work for the court reporter. You work when they need you, sometimes weekends when they have rush jobs..without notice because they are not always notified by the attorneys until the last minute and you do HAVE to meet the deadline. Unless you are working for a trial court reporter, you are mainly working depositions. GOOD TO KNOW ABOUT THE ADVERTISEMENT. I think someone with transcribing skills can get into this very easily without that expense. By contacting court reporting companies, you can get the info on the court reporters looking for scopists.
Your point? They have to obey a court order. nm
nm
sign a release saying she wouldn't take Transcend to court ?
What is that all about?  Is that true? Why?
ho ho ho but the hosp can play Russian Roulette w/going to court with

Those medical records became cheaper for hospitals how?  When they go to court with those expensive incorrect records and LOSE, wonder if they think it was cheaper?


 


Take her to small claims court. Good luck!
nn
I hope you sued in small claims court! -(nm)

No, we did not give out information. No court order involved. sm
Obviously, TT was able to look at the information provided in the posts and determine who they FELT were making the posts.

No information has been given out by MTStars on this situation whatsoever.

Move on.

Moderator

Well, call a lawyer then. A good one. You could even get court costs paid by your employer probabl
d
What is MQ considering overtime? sm

Is it anything over 39 hours?  Or if you are PT is it anything over what you have committed to work (ie 16 hours a week?). 


 


 


Anything over 40 is overtime
must be approved.  Same as when I worked for a VERY large company, it's time and a half but must be approved.  MedScribe does not limit the number of lines you can type but if you work on your day off you have to email first.
Overtime
Yes, we have been on mandatory overtime for many months.  The money is always nice, but it does wear you out.
overtime
How much mandatory OT for the part-time employees?  I already work full time.
Overtime
They require at least 1 hour per day.
Overtime
This thread in the Transtech bashing is by far the most ridiculous I have seen to date.  It is just as ridiculous as a Wal-Mart employee saying, hey I need to make some extra bucks, I'm going to put in some overtime.   Think they would pay for unauthorized overtime?  For those who are so unhappy at TT, why don't you spend the time you spend on these message boards sharpening up your resume and go somewhere where you can be happy and leave the rest of us alone?  As a TT employee myself, I would never dream of just deciding I wanted to put in overtime and then expect the company to pay for overtime whether it was justified or not.  And justification of overtime is NOT that you can't get the required lines in your allotted hours!!  Perhaps if the collective we stayed off these boards and actually applied ourselves to working, we wouldn't have to worry about putting in overtime either on or off the clock!!   Go ahead and report your whines to the labor board, you won't get anything but do remember you can't throw mud without getting mud on yourself.
I don't get overtime either
What I've been told is it all works out in the end. I get paid if I don't have any work on a given day and I get paid if I finish my work in less than 8 hours, then again there are times when I work extra hours to finish up my work when it's a particularly busy week. This week is very slow so I've actually only worked six hours the past four days but I still get paid for a 40 hour week.
It's not actually overtime - sm
When we work the 3 holidays for MDI-MD they are generally on a regular work day, so we are not working overtime so to speak, only our regular committed number of lines. I consider working 3 holidays to be fair in exchange for having the other 3 holidays off. Workloads on holidays are generally pretty light anyway, and you have the whole 24-hour day to get your lines done, so you can work around your personal needs for the day.
I've being doing a lot of overtime and have been on -
nm
Mandatory overtime
Yes as of a few months ago when I was there they had mandatory overtime. I think it is better for a company to offer incentive. Mandatory overtime is on a par with home slave.
no, getting overtime 2 weeks out of 4.
nm
Better ask if they still have mandated OVERtime!! nm
s
Can anyone say if they still have Mandatory overtime??? nm
s
Mandatory overtime would keep me FAR away from them. nm
s
I put in 5 hrs. of overtime last week, and

    That's the last time I bust my butt for nothing but chump change!  I could make more standing on a street corner with a cardboard sign...........


 


be grateful you actually have overtime
I'd give anything to be paid for overtime at my job - I get the same base hourly rate, regardless of how many hours I work, so be happy you have the opportunity to make extra instead of complaining about it.
You do understand, don't you, that Ƌ hrs.' overtime
a lot more than that in actuality. We're paid by the line, not the hour. We can only put so many hrs. on our time logs based on how much lines we type. So in order to get '5 hours' worth' of lines, I had to work roughly 10 extra hours, over and above what I normally work.

Sorry if I didn't make it entirely clear. But that IS chump-change, and I was a chump for working my @$$ off all night for it.
So, how does it work into overtime?
Since you have all the facts, please explain.
I can work all I want, but don't get paid overtime. I don't
have to clock in so I don't know how they would know how many hours I worked anyway. 
a question about overtime and the legality of this...
I am an hourly employee.  How can a company get away with not paying time and 1/2 for OT ?? just paying however many hours worked as hourly pay?  i am fearful of losing my job to even ask them but i've been with them for 5 years now with no OT pay
Overtime out my ears at WebMedX (sm)

I get 9 cents a line and there's a tiered incentive plan.  It's something like 150-160 lph they add 0.5, 160-170 lph they add 0.75.  The top is 300 lph, where they add 2 cpl.  I've consistently earned the top incentive pay, making great money.


I was a little worried the work would get low when I saw all the ads lately, but maybe the ads are because they got new accounts.  It gets maybe a teensy bit light around the holidays (like 5 minutes without work).  I have tons of backup accounts and almost every day I have the opportunity for overtime.


I'm a FT employee with benefits.  I'd rather have someone else take care of finding accounts, setting up benefits, etc.  Couldn't be happier, really.


They used to have mandatory overtime. Can anyone address this? nm
s
Used to start off at 7.4 cpl and they had Mandatory Overtime! Don't know
s
Question about Amphion overtime
I have been with Amphion a couple of months only and hardly getting used to their system.  I have been told to do mandatory overtime a lot and this is messing up my scheduled with picking my kids up etc.  I have to make other arrangements to pick up my kids.  What is the best way to get out of mandatory overtime.  I never worked for a company with mandatory overtime, it was always my choice. They said no nights or weekends in the beginning and then they go and pull these shenanigans. 
Why has Amphion overtime been stopped?

I was thinking of applying with them mainly because of that.  Like the person asked below has the overtime policy changed or are they just caught up?