Dell complaints

[InTheKnow]

All consumer workers:

Just got an email from someone that said the judge has certified the Oregon overtime case. The Dell case will be tried in Eugene, Oregon and will represent consumer workers from Oregon, Tennessee, Texas and Oklahoma.

[FallenAngel]

And the lawsuits just keep coming in. This is awesome.

[hotrodlincoln]

[FallenAngel]

In Dell's defence (can't believe I said that), this is another scenario that they didn't create, they just exploited. Expecting people to work unpaid here and there is not at all uncommon. The fact they allow themselves to be exploited like that, is quite saddening. Unless you stand up against it, they (Dell/etc) will continue to press you for it.

In Dell, during my time there, I saw and know of several people (including myself) that were expected to work voluntarily on their own unpaid time to perform work related duties. This included the dreaded "Log in 15 minutes early" routine they have been known for. I was one of a handful that had no issues telling them that if they expected me to log in 15 minutes early, then schedule me 15 minutes early and expect to pay me for it.

You piss on my head when I need even 2 minutes to do personal things on YOUR time, but you have no issues telling me to log in 15 minutes early on MY TIME and not get paid for it?

Their reasoning was always the standard "Well no one else seems to have a problem with it", saying it in such a way that I was supposed to believe this bullshit. ALL people have a problem being expected to do work for free, assholes. Thankfully, hourly employees were spared overtime nonsense as we clocked hours on our own.

The only grievance was (and it was eventually fixed), that they pay on 15 minute rotations after the allotted time. Sometimes it benefitted you, sometimes them. It wasn't as accurate as it could've been. You'd have to work 7-10 minutes of the 15 to get paid for the full 15. Anything less is not counted. Imagine 60-80K employees giving Dell 15 minutes at the start of each shift, and up to 15 at the end of each shift DAILY unpaid and I can see the issue here.

Dell didn't invent the practice though. Other former employers of mine also had this same mentality. The practice needs to be outed everywhere it happens, and abolished entirely. Threatening people's jobs if they speak up about it also has to be outlawed or at least protected somehow.

Dell did this to themselves. Now they have to pay the piper. For them, it won't end here at all. This is just one of a huge chain that we'll no doubt see as the year unfolds, and possibly the next couple after that.

[c_duffer]

The BIG issue here was the paying of half time for overtime. That was WRONG!!!! Overtime is paid at time plus a half. Creative accounting methods argue that if you get a small base salary- that covers ALL hours so when you work overtime- only half time is paid EXTRA. This led them to force massive overtime on the underpaid workers.
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I was burned out and didnt mean to prank call customers from work. I am sorry.

[FallenAngel]

Oh, I see. So Dell was paying for OT, but only at .5x instead of 1.5?

Scandalous.

[Steveo]

in my first year at dell, in january where quotas are high and there are no calls, and overtime was 3+hours a day, my hourly wage including commisions were around $5.50, when the state has a minimum wage of $7.XX.

Over time was like 3 fiddy a hour, dell takes advanteages of you, the biggest thing i hated about Dell they tried to be all family, "The soul of Dell", yeh right working 13hours days for 4months, half hour lunches, and them bringing lunches into the call center and Nick Assanova ringing his bell to summon your team to eat.

/rant mode off... Ive never been treated anywhere as badly as when I worked for Dell.

[Rocke_T_Sinetist]

And unlike some of their practices, they can't even say "well, it's legal in Texas". Texas employment law benefits no one but the employer. The only thing they ARE obligated to do, is pay you for time worked.

Note also, that they jiggered Kronos to hose you out of 9 minutes. The Kronos default increment is 1/10th hour, or 6 minutes, not 15. This is perfectly consistent with Dell, jewing down every standard, like: 12-month warranty becomes 3. 30-day mail order return becomes 21 days. Unconditional return becomes 15% fee plus shipping. Next business day becomes whenever they get around to it. In-home service becomes you have to spend 3 hours on the phone taking it apart first. Performance audio card becomes a software overlay on the standard card, for the price of the real card, with half the performance missing. Performance video card becomes a Dell-jiggered version with 25% of the performance missing. Zero-percent interest becomes 28%. "Award-winning" support becomes a scriptreader with an incomprehensible accent.

Anyone see a pattern here?
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Rocke T Sinetist
as in, 'it doesn't take a...'

[mediablitz]

Big shoutout to Dave Norman. Other names are on the lawsuit, but he is the one who put himself out there, and pursued this with all the data.

He took a LOT of crap from people who didn't get it. Kudo's to you, Mr. Norman!

[hotrodlincoln]

[Rocke_T_Sinetist]

I was afraid someone would trigger on that. But 'jewing down' is a verb, like 'niggardly' is an adjective, and neither are slurs in their proper usage. Though they can be and often are mistakenly perceived as such.

I probably wouldn't use that construction if I were running for office.
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Rocke T Sinetist
as in, 'it doesn't take a...'

[FallenAngel]

In the end Rocke, Dell had Kronos do a per minute cycle. 1/60.

This brought some cheers from a lot of people, but it didn't last long because Dell pulled out of Canada as we all know. It figures too, they put it in as per minute billing then jump ship because now they can't exploit us any longer.

I was surprised in the beginning that they didn't already have a per minute pay, because every place I had been with prior to Dell had theirs in place for years.