This has to be illegal somehow!

[tojaz]

Ok folks, Had this laid on me last week and have been doing a slow burn over it ever since.

 

I work commission in the auto repair industry. That means I get paid only for tasks completed, time clock is meaningless. The upside of that has been that if you are an efficient worker the wages can be very good and until now we were able to have some control over our schedule. Downside is that when there is no work to be done, there is no money to be made.

 

We are in a slow period and the work has dried up. Our schedule has been set for as long as I have been with the company that the technicians work from 8 A.M. until 5 P.M. with an hour allocated for lunch, or until there is no more work to be done that day. Which ever comes first. OT does not exist here.

 

Lately the work has been drying up by about 1-2 oclock. The lack of funds hurts, but the hours have been a nice consolation prize.

 

So last week we are informed by our manager that we will be required to have technicians there from 8 A.M to 5:30 P.M regardless if there is work or not. This means that if i finish all my work by noon, it is being demanded of me to stay there for another 5 and a half hours with out any compensation!!!! Since I usually start at 7:30 anyway and have an hour commute each way, I will end up devoting 12 hours a day to a job that will only be paying me on 4.

 

I have done a little searching, but commission seems to be a very gray area. Any insight? Moral as you can imagine is at an all time low for me and my colleagues.

 

TOJAZ

[Star Gazer]

That compensation structure would not be lawful in California.

 

Talk to a wage-hour attorney in your state.

[FitChick]

Why not ask the manager if you guys can split the day? Some can come in early and others after lunch. That way the place is covered.

 

Do you live in an economically depressed area so people cannot afford to get their cars fixed? My own mechanic said his business has been impacted because of the poor economy. So much for all these supposed new jobs that have been created. On paper maybe, but not in reality.

[tojaz]

That compensation structure would not be lawful in California.

 

Talk to a wage-hour attorney in your state.

 

That's probably going to be the next step. I have not found any solid Indiana laws regarding commission workers.

 

Why not ask the manager if you guys can split the day? Some can come in early and others after lunch. That way the place is covered.

 

Do you live in an economically depressed area so people cannot afford to get their cars fixed? My own mechanic said his business has been impacted because of the poor economy. So much for all these supposed new jobs that have been created. On paper maybe, but not in reality.

 

Being a commission shop, those that came in later would be starved out by the early shifts otherwise it would have been a fantastic compromise.

 

My area is a pretty good mix actually, we mostly do insurance work though, so many people are choosing to cash out rather then going through with repairs. Couple that with the price of gas decreasing the miles driven, which decreases the likelihood of accidents. People are also opting for less expensive new cars or older models that carry less value, which increases the chances insurance would choose to total the car rather then repair them.

 

TOJAZ

[Star Gazer]

That's probably going to be the next step. I have not found any solid Indiana laws regarding commission workers.

 

Commission is usually in addition to some sort of base salary/wages.

 

Call the number at the bottom of this: http://www.in.gov/dol/files/Indiana_2009_Minimum_Wage.pdf

[carhill]

Do you work the flat rate, meaning the customer is charged for the job via a set rate schedule for each task, and you are compensated as a percentage of that flat rate? This sounds a lot like the first dealership job I had as a young person. A smart mechanic (sounds like you do collision body/frame repair) could totally kill the flat rate book and make a fortune. My recollection was that there was a set modest baseline wage and the flat rate percentage on top. This was back in the 1970's.

 

I can't imagine an employer demanding a hourly/flat rate employee to be on-site without compensation and getting away with it. Either they'll be sued or their best mechanics will leave en-masse, or both.

 

 

I'd be out hitting my contacts for new employment today. Early bird catches the worm and I don't doubt others will be doing the same thing. Sure, lawyers and lawsuits might be worthwhile but they don't pay the bills in the interim. Also, if you're smart and have business savvy, you could steal away some of the techs and start your own collision repair shop. It's been done

[tojaz]

Do you work the flat rate, meaning the customer is charged for the job via a set rate schedule for each task, and you are compensated as a percentage of that flat rate? This sounds a lot like the first dealership job I had as a young person. A smart mechanic (sounds like you do collision body/frame repair) could totally kill the flat rate book and make a fortune. My recollection was that there was a set modest baseline wage and the flat rate percentage on top. This was back in the 1970's.

 

I can't imagine an employer demanding a hourly/flat rate employee to be on-site without compensation and getting away with it. Either they'll be sued or their best mechanics will leave en-masse, or both.

 

 

I'd be out hitting my contacts for new employment today. Early bird catches the worm and I don't doubt others will be doing the same thing. Sure, lawyers and lawsuits might be worthwhile but they don't pay the bills in the interim. Also, if you're smart and have business savvy, you could steal away some of the techs and start your own collision repair shop. It's been done

 

Yep its a book hour/flat rate basis. There is no base salary or hourly rate. No work equals no $$.

 

There has been a lot of talk of moving on and I have been involved in possibly partnering up to start a shop of my own, but its still a ways off financially.

 

After looking in our employment materials for anything regarding required work hours and finding nothing, me and the other techs decided to stand together and make a bold move. We ignored this new request and went about our day as we always have. Not a word was spoken. I guess we will see what tomorrow brings.

 

TOJAZ