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Subject:Re: Tech Writers as Hourly Employees?! From:"Janet M. Swisher" <swisher -at- enthought -dot- com> To:"TECHWR-L" <techwr-l -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com> Date:Fri, 20 May 2005 11:55:17 -0500
Lou Quillio wrote:
>
> Joe Malin wrote:
> > A former colleague of mine informs me that my old company is switching
> > all its technical writers to be hourly employees (non-exempt). I am
> > amazed. Has anyone else experienced this?
> There's a bigger reason for reclassification, and it's churn. Some
> employees will feel slighted (go figure), moreso the senior,
> ambitious, better-paid salarymen, and some will leave -- without
> having to be let go. Many won't be replaced, and if they are it'll
> be at less compensation. No-cost streamlining: the velvet crowbar.
The other big reason is that the US government (Dept. of Labor) recently
(August 2004) changed its regulations on which types of positions can
be exempt (salaried), and which must be non-exempt (hourly). As a
result, many companies are in a reclassification panic, and are leaning
on the side of making more positions non-exempt. (I think there was a
discussion of this topic on this list recently, but it might have been a
different list.)
There is an explicit exemption for programmers. Tech writers don't fall
under the same exemption unless they specifically work on "software or
system functional specifications", "user or system design
specifications", or "documentation ... related to machine operating
systems". Business analysts, take heart.
Tech writers *might* fall under the "learned professional" or "creative
professional" exemptions. To be "learned", you must have advanced
knowledge "customarily acquired by a prolonged course of specialized
intellectual instruction" -- which implies that a bachelor's degree is
not sufficient. To be "creative", you must perform work "requiring
invention, imagination, originality or talent in a recognized field of
artistic or creative endeavor". While many of us regularly apply
invention, imagination, originality or talent, technical writing is not
commonly recognized as artistic or creative. Whether you think it should
be so recognized is not relevant. And the less charitable might argue
that invention, imagination, originality or talent are not *required*
for tech writing, though they can be helpful. Much depends on the
specifics of your particular job.
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