CMS Author Craig Vecchione Posted September 12, 2012 CMS Author Share Posted September 12, 2012 Thanks Andy... but I dunno.It might be that at times some folks have a perception I might know some stuff, and I'll more freely admit that I've made some mistakes. If my seeming knowledge and obvious mistakes where compiled in book form, I suspect my knowledge book would comprise some-odd pages, and I suspect the index of my mistakes competition would be 600+ pages of very fine print. I completely understand your frustration. Government and business should cooperate, as I think we both agree there's mutual benefit to all involved by doing so. Considering how far government is willing to bend over backwards for certain individual and groups, it doesn't seem unreasonable to expect that a notice it wishes to convey to a worker, which it *demands* be posted by the employer, be made available freely, and be made known to the employer without constant research by the employer. How are you to know that an employment law has been passed? Or has changed? Or was repealed? The IRS has no problem finding each and every one of us...why can't the rest of government find all employers?? This is even more important considering how unbalanced enforcement of laws can be, and that seemingly minor infractions will result in major penalties. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Axisplayer Posted September 12, 2012 Members Share Posted September 12, 2012 Well, as someone from the government side of things, I can offer this thought. Just as the private side is hurting from the economy, so is the government. I do agree with Mark that the government probably has enough information on businesses to be able to handle the issue of deciding who needs what posters. However, our budgets have gone down just like the economy. The NASA Center I work at had 5000 employees and contractors when I started here. Now we have around 2000. We are required in many cases by law, to do the same amount of work as an Agency but with budgets that are ever decreasing. AT one time we have 5 attorneys for me to consult with on Center. Last year, we were down to one. How do I accomplish the same workload, with the same customer expectations, when there are not enough people and resources to do the work? I will honestly say that I feel fortunate to have a job, that pays enough to live a decent life, when so many do not. I feel for the people that want to work and can't. I can also say that I still try to do my job the best that I can with what I have to work with. I can also say that I cannot produce the same quantity of work in the same timeframe as I once could. Economics don't allow it. Mark, I wish your posters could be mailed to you, with all the requirements carefully monitored for your particular business. I am certain the capability IS there. The reality is that the manpower levels and money required are NOT there to support that. With smaller government comes more responsibility for citizens to do their part of making the country run. We can only do so much on our end, just like you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members agedhorse Posted September 12, 2012 Members Share Posted September 12, 2012 The IRS has no problem finding each and every one of us...why can't the rest of government find all employers?? This is even more important considering how unbalanced enforcement of laws can be, and that seemingly minor infractions will result in major penalties. Heck, they can't even find all of THEIR own employees!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CMS Author Craig Vecchione Posted September 12, 2012 CMS Author Share Posted September 12, 2012 FWIW, I found this for Pennsylvania:http://www.portal.state.pa.us/portal/server.pt?open=514&objID=553565&mode=2 Lists all required notices to be posted. Mark, perhaps there's an equivalent somewhere in WA's websites. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Axisplayer Posted September 12, 2012 Members Share Posted September 12, 2012 Like this one which has the required and recommended posters for WA. http://www.lni.wa.gov/Main/ForBusiness.asp and this one is even better... http://www.lni.wa.gov/IPUB/101-054-000.pdf Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CMS Author Craig Vecchione Posted September 12, 2012 CMS Author Share Posted September 12, 2012 Like this one which has the required and recommended posters for WA.http://www.lni.wa.gov/Main/ForBusiness.aspand this one is even better...http://www.lni.wa.gov/IPUB/101-054-000.pdf There you go, excellent. Mark, I count 10 required posters, and the notice says only that they must be posted "where employees can read them". That gives you some leeway. If there's no room inside, consider constructing a board mounted outside next to an entrance door. Frame it with 1x4 Azek, and put a plexi front to keep weather out. I've also seen them installed in a bathroom (two are required if you have men's and women's lavs, obviously) or hallway. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members W. M. Hellinger Posted September 13, 2012 Members Share Posted September 13, 2012 With smaller government comes more responsibility for citizens to do their part of making the country run. Yup. IMO: the "posters thing" is indicative of a bigger systemic problem... I guess... I don't know what. I think we're getting lost in our underwear as a country. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CMS Author Craig Vecchione Posted September 13, 2012 CMS Author Share Posted September 13, 2012 Yup.IMO: the "posters thing" is indicative of a bigger systemic problem... I guess... I don't know what. I think we're getting lost in our underwear as a country. IMO the problem is that the government has accepted or taken too large a role in the day-to-day aspects of our lives. "Nanny state" and all are terms tossed about, and there's some merit to it...we *have* to wear seatbelts, we *have* to label a cup of hot coffee with "Caution: Hot coffee is hot". Duh. Every time the government assumes this type of role by requiring something that previously was left to good judgement or common sense, it transfers responsibility to either itself or some other entity such as a corporation or another private individual. Just as a few can't permanently pay for the many, nobody else can take responsibility for someone or anyone else's actions. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members IsildursBane Posted September 13, 2012 Members Share Posted September 13, 2012 Yup.IMO: the "posters thing" is indicative of a bigger systemic problem... I guess... I don't know what. The posters are up so employees can be informed of their rights as employees. It's a good idea, but in practice, they're a joke. -Dan. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members RoadRanger Posted September 13, 2012 Members Share Posted September 13, 2012 The "free lunch" masses will always out-vote common sense as the latter isn't all that "common" . To get back on topic folks sometimes come on here looking for advice as to what to do to get into this industry. The #1 thing I think any sound company (or other viable company) is looking for in their employees is common sense. "Ignorance can be fixed, stoopid is forever". I have a real problem with "voter registration" initiatives - if you are too lazy or stoopid to register to vote maybe you really shouldn't, eh ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members W. M. Hellinger Posted September 13, 2012 Members Share Posted September 13, 2012 "Caution: Hot coffee is hot". Duh.Per exactly... "duh".Why am I required to plaster MY walls with posters to educate my employees that Federal Minimum Wage is $7.25 per hour (in very large print by-the-way), when minimum wage in my state is $9.04 per hour, and my pay rate for all of my employees is well above our state minimum wage? Why? It seems like a waste of resources to be required to post this notice, which is seemingly superfluous information for my place of business. Maybe I'm missing something? That reminds me of something: A business I worked at in my younger days had an employee bathroom that was somewhere on the order of approx. 3ft. x 3ft. square footage. That bathroom had a toilet, toilet paper, a lightbulb, and a door... peroid... that was it... almost. On the inside, above the door, was an exit sign. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members IsildursBane Posted September 14, 2012 Members Share Posted September 14, 2012 Per exactly... "duh".Why am I required to plaster MY walls with posters to educate my employees that Federal Minimum Wage is $7.25 per hour (in very large print by-the-way), when minimum wage in my state is $9.04 per hour, and my pay rate for all of my employees is well above our state minimum wage? Why? It seems like a waste of resources to be required to post this notice, which is seemingly superfluous information for my place of business. Maybe I'm missing something? Because some employers try to cheat their employees. The signs (in theory) inform the employees of what the laws and their rights are so as to help them not be cheated. -Dan. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members W. M. Hellinger Posted September 14, 2012 Members Share Posted September 14, 2012 Because some employers try to cheat their employees. The signs (in theory) inform the employees of what the laws and their rights are so as to help them not be cheated.-Dan. Humm... I hadn't thought of that... I guess I was thinking inside my little box. My point all along (although it was between the lines... I guess I should have spit it out right off) was: The OP wants to know: How much to pay an employee? IME: You can't hire just one employee and likely see a net positive gain in productivity, because it likely takes the better part of one employee's worth of full-time work (40 hrs. / week) to do all the paperwork and compliance stuff required by law to employ an employee if the employer doesn't hire all that stuff out (which probably equates money-wise to more than one employee's wages at some tick above minimum wage, commiserate with hiring an employee that doesn't already know how to do all of everything that's required to be above board legally to employ an employee... if you don't believe me, when it's time to issue your employee his/her W2... just dump it in the employee's lap and say: "here, figure it out", with the employee using their records to do it all and file the forms and chunk it out and then have the employee issue his/her self all the paperwork and sign-off that they take full responsibility for the filing... and see how long it takes). So the question (in my mind) isn Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CMS Author Craig Vecchione Posted September 14, 2012 CMS Author Share Posted September 14, 2012 Per exactly... "duh". Why am I required to plaster MY walls with posters to educate my employees that Federal Minimum Wage is $7.25 per hour (in very large print by-the-way), when minimum wage in my state is $9.04 per hour, and my pay rate for all of my employees is well above our state minimum wage? Why? It seems like a waste of resources to be required to post this notice, which is seemingly superfluous information for my place of business. Maybe I'm missing something? Here's the silver-lining side of it; consider the minimum wage poster a gentle reminder to your employees that they are being paid well for their efforts. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CMS Author Craig Vecchione Posted September 14, 2012 CMS Author Share Posted September 14, 2012 Because some employers try to cheat their employees. The signs (in theory) inform the employees of what the laws and their rights are so as to help them not be cheated.-Dan. This is where the theories run off the rails. Why is it that nobody from the government shows up, or even sends Mark a letter, kindly informing him of whatever rights he has as an employer, telling him which notices he must post, or even so much as letting him know where he can find such information? Why is HE given the "there's no excuse for ignorance of the law" attitude and left to his own devices to determine how to comply with laws that span volumes? If there's a logical explanation for this, then why doesn't that explanation apply to employees?? Why are they not left to research their rights, and have them handed to them, at their employers' (which ultimately means *their*) expense? "All men are created equal. Some more equal than others." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members IsildursBane Posted September 14, 2012 Members Share Posted September 14, 2012 This is where the theories run off the rails. Why is it that nobody from the government shows up, or even sends Mark a letter, kindly informing him of whatever rights he has as an employer, telling him which notices he must post, or even so much as letting him know where he can find such information? Why is HE given the "there's no excuse for ignorance of the law" attitude and left to his own devices to determine how to comply with laws that span volumes? If there's a logical explanation for this, then why doesn't that explanation apply to employees?? Why are they not left to research their rights, and have them handed to them, at their employers' (which ultimately means *their*) expense? You're comparing apples & oranges. "No excuse for the law" applies to crimes committed by the person you're talking about, not upon the person. There are no posters telling employees that they can't steal from their employer, that they can't set the building on fire, etc. They, also, are left to their "own devices to determine how to comply with laws that span volumes." The posters, OTOH, are not telling employees what they can't do - they're telling employees what other people (i.e. employers) can't do to them. This is a protection against others, not instructions on how to behave. But more generally speaking, employees get some measure of favoritism in the law, because in the labor market/negotiations, they're usually the ones at a disadvantage. The employee usually needs the job more than the employer needs that particular employee, and the severing of an existing employer-employee relationship will usually have a far greater impact on the employee than it will the employer. Having a lopsided situation like that leads to abuses, and one of the proper roles of government is to protect the less powerful in our society. I wouldn't be opposed to some system that helped small business owners navigate the laws governing their businesses, but I imagine that, given the variety of businesses out there and the laws covering them, it may be tough to do that in such a simplified way. It suspect it would quickly snowball into a free legal service. -Dan. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members agedhorse Posted September 14, 2012 Members Share Posted September 14, 2012 Because some employers try to cheat their employees. The signs (in theory) inform the employees of what the laws and their rights are so as to help them not be cheated.-Dan. Whay about the other side of the coin... employees that cheat their employers? Should the employees be mandated to provide a poster informing the employer of his rights? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members RoadRanger Posted September 14, 2012 Members Share Posted September 14, 2012 Should the employees be mandated to provide a poster informing the employer of his rights?Employers still have rights out where you live? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members loco_p_man Posted September 14, 2012 Members Share Posted September 14, 2012 Because some employers try to cheat their employees. The signs (in theory) inform the employees of what the laws and their rights are so as to help them not be cheated.-Dan. The thought occurs to me that an employer that illegally pays less than the national or state minimum wage might also simply not put up the poster which informs his/her employees that they are being cheated.....break one law, why not break a few more ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members W. M. Hellinger Posted September 14, 2012 Members Share Posted September 14, 2012 Employers still have rights out where you live? I didn't mean to raise such a fuss... the intent was coffee-shop talk (for potentially new employers) that employee pay is generally only part of the "cost" of having an employee.I'm aware of a local to me employer who is currently constructing their own in-house medical facility as a means to attempt to contain costs concerned with the company Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members lifeloverwg Posted September 14, 2012 Members Share Posted September 14, 2012 Don't know what's right for the OP's situation and market, but for what it's worth and to get back on topic.............., I was paid $20 an hour last time I worked for a friend for a 16hr day of setup, running one of the stages and then teardown. It was on a contract basis though, so by the time I declare it on my taxes and pay both sides of the FICA and other taxes it won't look quite as good. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members IsildursBane Posted September 14, 2012 Members Share Posted September 14, 2012 Whay about the other side of the coin... employees that cheat their employers? Should the employees be mandated to provide a poster informing the employer of his rights? Good idea, except that's not necessary. The employer can just fire him. -Dan. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members nchangin Posted September 14, 2012 Members Share Posted September 14, 2012 Great replies. I appreciate all the input!The band that I run sound for pays me $250 per gig and they usually make anywhere from $700 - $1200 per gig and have five members. I've been paying my helper $70 which leaves me $180. He seems pretty happy with the pay, it's just the suffocating girlfriend that is starting to cause some issues.I'm sure that some of you who can afford to pay your assistant $100 or more are getting paid more than $250 per gig. That is the going rate for sound at small- or medium-sized gigs around these parts. I leave the larger gigs for guys who have more gear. If it's any consolation if it's low pay he's low paid (roady!) and the negotiated price I put in the offer, but I have 2 backups anway. Question to you is: How many hours of actual labor do you think your helper actually works on a given night? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members W. M. Hellinger Posted September 15, 2012 Members Share Posted September 15, 2012 For an employer considering part-time employees, there are provisions, and as I recall those provisions... something about Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members W. M. Hellinger Posted September 15, 2012 Members Share Posted September 15, 2012 a 16hr day I was paid $20 an hour It was on a contract basis though, As a contractor, the length of the work day is pretty much up to you, right? You bid on the job, right? As a customer/contractor situation, you as the contractor basically define or negoiate with the customer what you're going to do and how long you're going to do it, and how much you're going to charge to do that job, right? If so, your point is? Awe... I see now after re-reading... charging $20/hr. as a contractor (being your own emplyee and your own employer)... after splitting your contracted income with Uncle (and slogging the paperwork involved with that)... that $20/hr. contractor fee over a 16 hr. day takes on a different perspective... yes, no, maybe? BTW: offering any of my employees the option of $20/hr. as contractors would probably be a deal for me... especially if I could get 16 hrs. of them working for me like "their livelihood depends on it" (like it is for me) in a 24hr. day. Don't get me wrong, my crew is great... some of the best of the best (maybe the best of the best... my greatest assett), but employment is... and let's not anybody kid anybody... some about adult daycare, unless the employer has engineered that employment situation as one of the best jobs the employee will learn to hate (with probably a very short learning curve). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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