Callout Pay

[justanotherlocator]

Curious....does your company pay any additional compensation for after hours callouts?

[Mke]

any additional compensation? Like standby pay? or just letting you bill two hours for working one?

We get to bill from the time we get the call to the time we get back home........ not too bad considering I live about an hour away. I've billed 5hrs for a non-locate once =)

Recieved call- 30min to call contractor, look at location map, and get dressed.

1hr to drive to the office

20min to go up to the 8th floor, grab maps and truck keys and radio

40min to drive to the location.

30min to locate and verify utilities who's locators did not show up. (they missed my utilities by 30')

40min to drive back to the office

Took truck keys and radio home since I was to be back in 3.5hrs.

1Hr to drive back home.

see, got 20min free............what a steal........... Yeah the 20 min didn't pay for the gas for the personal rig......but hey, what other occupation can you get called out on all the major holidays to avoid those awkward situations with the inlaws?

mke

[FiosKing]

my company pays me for drivetime and the work... doesent matter how far the ticket is we bill from starting truck until i shut it off when i get home most of the time 2 hours per ticket for me

mke you dont take your trucks home? i cant remember the last time i was at my office lol

[big boots mcghee]

Once upon a time my employer paid out additional money if we covered a weekend day of oncall, either Saturday or Sunday. There was a time when we got extra $$ just for covering a holiday, too. During the same time period there was also additional money paid out to those that were "specially certified" to perform locates for the power company out here after hours. For the opportunists, like myself, it was a good time to make extra money. There were two or three of us that picked up as many incentive laden oncall days as possible for a 2-3 year stretch. However, as most good things do, the oncall incentives came to an end, with the company saying it wasn't something that was utilized across the board in all states so it was best to just phase it out, though for a short time after they dangled the incentive carrot in front of us locator rabbits by saying it might come back.

Now the only incentive to cover oncall is to keep your job, as it is a condition of employment, though personally covering oncall once a week or more is too much.

[yahoo]

time and half from the time you recieve the call to the time you return home!

[locator00566]

We get paid $50 a week just for being on call

[SouthPaw]

straight time from when you leave your house until when you return home. No extra pay for holidays, weekends, or for being inconvenienced and waiting around all night waiting on a call. We used to get a little cash just for being on call, but that's gone now.

[sprayandpray]

We get paid $50 a week just for being on call

Is that still true? USIC took it away from us last year. Please confirm !

[locator00566]

Is that still true? USIC took it away from us last year. Please confirm !

Yes it is. In my office anyway. It may have something to do with us being a union office.

[ProfessionalLocator]

straight time from when you leave your house until when you return home. No extra pay for holidays, weekends, or for being inconvenienced and waiting around all night waiting on a call. We used to get a little cash just for being on call, but that's gone now.

Federal law states that if when oncall you cannot reasonably use your own time then you are legally due standby pay. This does not mean restriction on drinking alcohol, courts have rejected this counter. What it means if that historically you get so many calls you cannot reasonably go anywhere and do anything then you are due standby pay.

If you get say one or two calls a week the courts consider that reasonable. If you get called out nightly, and cannot resolve the job quickly by phone, then you are due standby pay. The standby pay is not just for the weekend but all seven days of the week.

The courts are full of cases where employees oncall and not getting standby pay have been awarded money plus damages. It comes under the same laws as ot, they owe the employee three times the wages due. Lawyers look for cases like this in a big firm so they can cash in on a class action lawsuit.

[RD_Wrangler]

Is that still true? USIC took it away from us last year. Please confirm !

Us too Spray...said they were phasing it out company wide...I call FOUL!!!

[FiosKing]

Federal law states that if when oncall you cannot reasonably use your own time then you are legally due standby pay. This does not mean restriction on drinking alcohol, courts have rejected this counter. What it means if that historically you get so many calls you cannot reasonably go anywhere and do anything then you are due standby pay.

If you get say one or two calls a week the courts consider that reasonable. If you get called out nightly, and cannot resolve the job quickly by phone, then you are due standby pay. The standby pay is not just for the weekend but all seven days of the week.

The courts are full of cases where employees oncall and not getting standby pay have been awarded money plus damages. It comes under the same laws as ot, they owe the employee three times the wages due. Lawyers look for cases like this in a big firm so they can cash in on a class action lawsuit.

standby pay? hmmm weekends around here are nuts... most weekends im on call i get 10-20hours OT but do not get this "standby pay"

[Dave72]

Standby pay here too.. 2 hr straight time for each 8hr shift covered. Call outs are 2 hr min (at 2x) (even if you just open the laptop and call in a 'clear'). If you have to show, its 2x from your door to back home.

I cant see why anyone would be on 'standby' w/o getting some standby compensation for it (other than the old 'youre lucky you have a job' thing). I mean, its a responsibility.. you can drink (too much), have to be near the phone
and ready to go etc etc...

For full disclosure, our 'standby' ppl cover both locates and major line outages.. so the comp gets to cover 2 birds with one stone etc..

[nopaint4you]

I would like to know where you found that info cause i'd like to shove it up usic's a$$ and make them pay!!!

Federal law states that if when oncall you cannot reasonably use your own time then you are legally due standby pay. This does not mean restriction on drinking alcohol, courts have rejected this counter. What it means if that historically you get so many calls you cannot reasonably go anywhere and do anything then you are due standby pay.

If you get say one or two calls a week the courts consider that reasonable. If you get called out nightly, and cannot resolve the job quickly by phone, then you are due standby pay. The standby pay is not just for the weekend but all seven days of the week.

The courts are full of cases where employees oncall and not getting standby pay have been awarded money plus damages. It comes under the same laws as ot, they owe the employee three times the wages due. Lawyers look for cases like this in a big firm so they can cash in on a class action lawsuit.

[bearmaiden]

We get $50 a week plus any hours we incur on the locate. Our time begins when we leave home until we return.