TechWhirl (TECHWR-L) is a resource for technical writing and technical communications professionals of all experience levels and in all industries to share their experiences and acquire information.
For two decades, technical communicators have turned to TechWhirl to ask and answer questions about the always-changing world of technical communications, such as tools, skills, career paths, methodologies, and emerging industries. The TechWhirl Archives and magazine, created for, by and about technical writers, offer a wealth of knowledge to everyone with an interest in any aspect of technical communications.
Michelle Parcell said...
>
> All,
>
> My company was recently acquired and we're going through the growing
pains
> of assimilating to their HR systems, among other things. My manager
was
> recently told by the new powers that be that we writers should be
hourly
> rather than salaried, which was a huge surprise to us (since we've
always
> been salaried). My manager thinks there may be legal reasons for this
and
> that the government may have defined what we do as being an
hourly-type
> job (to ensure we are paid OT). I was wondering if there were many of
you
> who were hourly or if anyone has had to "defend" being a salaried
> employee.
>
> I did search the archives in multiple ways for this topic but always
came
> up with a blank page, so forgive me if this is a repeated question.
>
> Thanks!
>
I've always seen TW jobs treated as salaried except in the case of
contractors. Be sure what the parent company is actually trying to
do--are they intending to keep you as full employees with full benefits
or are they intending to change your positions to contract positions
(maybe a greater hourly rate, but no benefits and extra hours paid at
the base rate instead of OT rate, no vacation, no paid holidays, etc.).
If they're intending to keep you as full employees but change you to
hourly, then see if you can determine if there's a difference in what
benefits the new parent company offers salaried (exempt) employees from
hourly (non-exempt). Sometimes the benefits offered to each group is
different -- I've had two former employers (both public companies) that
offered a significantly different benefits package to salaried employees
than hourly employees.
CONFIDENTIALITY NOTICE: This e-mail may contain information that is privileged, confidential or otherwise protected from disclosure. If you are not the intended recipient of this e-mail, please notify the sender immediately by return e-mail, purge it and do not disseminate or copy it.
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Now Shipping -- WebWorks ePublisher Pro for Word! Easily create online
Help. And online anything else. Redesigned interface with a new
project-based workflow. Try it today! http://www.webworks.com/techwr-l
