For telemarketers at a publishing company in Pennsylvania, taking breaks for water, a trip to the bathroom, or a brief rest was cutting into their wages. For each minute employees were not making sales calls, their salaries were docked, which often meant their paychecks were below the federal minimum wage. During an investigation of a Las Vegas telemarketing company, it was revealed that employees were being paid based on a percentage of individual sales. This resulted in many of the employers working for weeks with little or no pay. Both practices are likely to be in violation of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA).<\/p>\n
There are an estimated 234,520 telemarketers in the United States, covering a wide range of services from business support to electronic shopping, and the job can be demanding. There is constant pressure to contact businesses or individual clients to solicit sales for goods and services or to solicit a charitable donation. In-depth knowledge of products and services is required to provide accurate answers to all the customer questions. Often, there is a set time limit to deliver a prepared sales talk and complete the sale or donation. Every telemarketing company is different. Some may pay commission, some may pay salary, and some may pay both. In order to make money, telemarketers are often required to make a huge volume of calls and successful pitches.<\/p>\n
In the case of the telemarketing company in Malvern, Pennsylvania, employees had to clock in and out for each break they took, even when those breaks lasted only a minute or two\u2014to stretch their legs, get a glass of water, or go to the restroom. Their employer deducted the accumulated break time from their total hours worked each week. According to the federal judge who examined the case, this practice is in direct violation of the FLSA. According to this act, rehabilitative breaks\u2014those which last 20 minutes or less\u2014must be counted as hours worked and paid for as working time. The FLSA requires that employees be paid \u201cat least the minimum salary of $7.25 per hour for all hours worked, plus time and one-half their regular rates, including commissions, bonuses, and incentive pay, for hours worked beyond 40 per week.\u201d<\/p>\n
There are a number of different ways your employer can withhold money that you have earned. These include:<\/p>\n
For telemarketers at a publishing company in Pennsylvania, taking breaks for water, a trip to the bathroom, or a brief rest was cutting into their wages. For each minute employees were not making sales calls, their salaries were docked, which often meant their paychecks were below the federal minimum wage. During an investigation of a<\/p>\n