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NC; Working on Flat Rate

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StreetLimitz89

Junior Member
i am a auto mechanic and i work off of flat rate(paid by the job) i put myself in the shop 6 days a week 55+ hours a week and i only bring a 23-27 hours a week check home so technically i basically make roughly hourly if u do the math any where between 4-5 hour is there a law to make my employer pay me for time that i work and not get paid for ... living on these terms does not make ends meet but having a job for now is the most important thing to have
 


pattytx

Senior Member
All hours that you are at the job location, ready to work, and cannot leave, is considered hours worked. It's called "engaged to be waiting".

Take your gross pay for the workweek, and divide it by all "hours worked", including the hours sitting and the hours actually "mechanic-ing". ;) If the result is at least minimum wage, the employer is compliant in that regard; if not, a minimum wage violation has occurred.

Do you work for a dealership or for an independent garage?
 

StreetLimitz89

Junior Member
i work for a dealership. heres and example.. this paycheck i got 27.60 hours turned for the flat rate time, i was At the Workplace Ready to work from 8-5 Mon-Fri minus 1 hr for lunch, on sat i work on my own noone else except 1 advisor and i work from 8 to when ever 9/10 times on lunch i will be interrupted and lose my lunch to Do a Vehicle and as soon as lunch is over and i did not get a complete lunch i have more work to do Already, soo ... 8-5 5 days a week = 40+ hours depending on the time i get for a lunch ... They DO NOT give us time cards to monitor our time,just come in Be here and work we cannot leave if the business is open for work hours.

on my instance i put myself there for 40-50+ hours a week and if i do the math ... i get only 6.7$ hr and thats much less than min wage we do not get a guarantee for time... soo on a bad week which i have had in the past a FEW times where i only get 145$ for a 40-50+ week i only get 4.17$ hr ( i put myself there for 53 hours 1 week and only turned in 145$ in my pocket Thus 2.74$ hr Pay)
Even lower than min wage in the first place .. i feel wronged and i just need to know if there is ANY thing i can do to be compensated for the hours i work Vs. get paid
 
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xylene

Senior Member
i feel wronged and i just need to know if there is ANY thing i can do to be compensated for the hours i work Vs. get paid
You have a professional skill set.

You are a master mechanic

You need to switch jobs to one which compensates you properly or hang out your own shingle.

Don't let these dealer cheapskates hold you down.

Don't let the bad economy fears make you think exploitative employment terms are something you need to role over for.
 

pattytx

Senior Member
Yes. You file a wage claim with the state Dept. of Labor for failure to pay minimum wage.

However, relative to another job, this compensation plan is not uncommon in the industry.
 

ecmst12

Senior Member
I thought I read at some point that there is an exemption possible for mechanics, but I could be misremembering.

It is very normal in your industry for you to get paid by "billable hours". If you ran your own shop and were billing customers directly, you'd be getting paid the same way. If the guidelines say that a specific repair should take 5 hours, then you can only bill the customer for 5 hours of labor, even if it took you 8 hours. On the other hand, if it took you 3 hours, you still get to bill for 5. So the faster you are able to work, the more money you make...provided you have enough work to keep you busy most of the time you are in the shop.

If you owned your own shop, you'd technically get to keep the full amount you billed the customer, plus the markup on the parts. HOWEVER, you'd also have to pay the overhead, which is a lot more then you think....rent, utilities, tools, INSURANCE, service manuals, etc. Plus you'd be doing EVERYTHING yourself until you could afford to hire someone to help out...which is more overhead. This is why your employer pays you less then they bill out.
 

pattytx

Senior Member
The exception is for the premium portion of overtime for mechanics (and some others) who work for a dealership. It is not for minimum wage or for the straight-time portion of overtime.
 

xylene

Senior Member
However, relative to another job, this compensation plan is not uncommon in the industry.
Yes it is true that many mechanics don't get paid a good wage.

Pay structure is not the problem that I was speaking to.

There is no reason for a master automotive mechanic to be clearing only $145, even on a "bad week"

There is something wrong with that shop's rate and business.
 

StreetLimitz89

Junior Member
Not a Master yet .. im 2 tests away the transmission Auto and Standard but no the work rate i do isint too slow .. id turn a 8 hour job in less than 3 and pulling and replacing a tranny in less than 4 when it calls for 10-11 hours the rate i can work at is plenty fast and efficent enough but the amout of money i can turn is horrible i just want to know if i can file a claim and get compensated for the hours i dont reach min wage for
 
Section 7(i) of the FLSA exempts from the FLSA’s overtime requirements “any employee of a retail or service establishment … if

(1) the regular rate of pay of such employee is in excess of one and one-half times the minimum hourly rate applicable … under section 6 [minimum wage], and

(2) more than half his compensation for a representative period (not less than one month) represents commissions on goods or services.” 29 U.S.C. § 207(i). The Wage and Hour Division’s regulatory interpretations of Section 7(i) are contained in 29 C.F.R. §§779.410 – 779.421.

To qualify for Section 7(i)’s exemption from the overtime provisions of the FLSA, three conditions must be met:

(1) the employee must be employed by a retail or service establishment;

(2) the employee’s regular rate of pay must exceed one and one-half times the applicable minimum wage; and

(3) more than half the employee’s total earnings in a representative period must consist of commissions on goods or services.

Section 7(i) is an establishment-based and compensation-based exemption. 29 C.F.R. §§ 779.302-.303. If an establishment qualifies as a retail or service establishment, then any employee employed by that establishment is exempt if the employee’s compensation satisfies Section 7(i)’s two other requirements: compensation of one and one-half times the minimum wage and more than one-half derived from commissions on goods or services.

See the link below for more detailed information, however, keep in mind, the min wage must be paid for every worked hr, including the waiting in your line of work. The overtime issue, is not required to be paid by the employer, if #2, & #3 above is met, otherwise ot is due.

http://www.dol.gov/whd/opinion/FLSA/2003/2003_03_17_1_FLSA.pdf
 

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