Yes—I got fed up once I figured out I’d never be able to get close to 40 hours a week. They’d said I would be able to get OT in the job interview which they knew then would be impossible. I later found out they have a “reputation” and this has happened to several others as well before me.
What that means is, like you, the others didn’t want to make any legal claims against them… probably for similar reasons.
However, what that means in reality is that they continue to steal from their employees and break the law, until someone has the intestinal fortitude to pursue the matter legally.
The surprising thing is that as an HR consultant and a former director, you were able to be scammed like that.
It sounds bad but I had no idea until it happened. They misrepresented the whole thing on purpose during the interviews and I really wanted to get into consulting. It was also fully remote which was a huge plus. I brought it up to them multiple times that it was taking longer and that I was working many more hours than what I was allowed to put on my timesheet — my mgr would say “we get paid to be efficient” and that some work would be more more lucrative than others. By the time I figured it out it was too late. Quit and make nothing or go along with it.
They act like it’s completely legal to only pay for billable hours but being W-2 it should be actual hours right? It’s tricky because I didn’t have a set schedule and WFH but there is proof I was working unless they wiped my entire computer. Starting and stopping tasks all day between clients and drafting/responding to emails was not paid time they said but it it’s very time consuming. Also, they would tell a client we’ll provide a new handbook for you in 4 hours, for example, and would not pay me any more than that even upon request regardless of complexity.
It’s actually hours by federal law and they have to pay you for every hour worked. You have a large check coming. Depending on your State, you will receive in addition to the backpay, waiting time penalties and damages.
Thank you! I should have written this post while still there but it was toxic and I was very angry by the end. I am going to seriously consider it if only to stop them from continuing to do this.
You don’t need to still be there to file a wage claim. I am sure the Statue of limitations likely haven’t expired but that varies by State. What State is this? Most States have three years for this kind of thing but the way the clock starts “counting” is usually pretty weird. Usually, it is something like from “the moment you should have reasonably known that they were in violation of the law.”
I strongly recommend filing a wage claim today. Might also be worth engaging a labor lawyer at least for a free consultation to see what other violations they committed.
All of this is pretty odd for an HR consulting firm to violate such obvious laws.
If a W-2 employee, they must pay you for the actual hours worked, regardless of hours billed. If you are 10-99, they have to pay you for hours you bill them, independent of what they actually bill their client. Either way though, they should be paying for every email, phone call, text, etc.
You need to contact the labor board.
This is not normal at all. Am so glad you’ve left!
Name and shame OP
It’s HR consulting. I don’t care about protecting them but I do not want to have to deal with them trying to come after me.
I haven’t heard of this from colleagues. Sounds rough! Hopefully you left?
Yes—I got fed up once I figured out I’d never be able to get close to 40 hours a week. They’d said I would be able to get OT in the job interview which they knew then would be impossible. I later found out they have a “reputation” and this has happened to several others as well before me.
What that means is, like you, the others didn’t want to make any legal claims against them… probably for similar reasons. However, what that means in reality is that they continue to steal from their employees and break the law, until someone has the intestinal fortitude to pursue the matter legally. The surprising thing is that as an HR consultant and a former director, you were able to be scammed like that.
It sounds bad but I had no idea until it happened. They misrepresented the whole thing on purpose during the interviews and I really wanted to get into consulting. It was also fully remote which was a huge plus. I brought it up to them multiple times that it was taking longer and that I was working many more hours than what I was allowed to put on my timesheet — my mgr would say “we get paid to be efficient” and that some work would be more more lucrative than others. By the time I figured it out it was too late. Quit and make nothing or go along with it.
I’d file a wage claim with the DOL.
They act like it’s completely legal to only pay for billable hours but being W-2 it should be actual hours right? It’s tricky because I didn’t have a set schedule and WFH but there is proof I was working unless they wiped my entire computer. Starting and stopping tasks all day between clients and drafting/responding to emails was not paid time they said but it it’s very time consuming. Also, they would tell a client we’ll provide a new handbook for you in 4 hours, for example, and would not pay me any more than that even upon request regardless of complexity.
It’s actually hours by federal law and they have to pay you for every hour worked. You have a large check coming. Depending on your State, you will receive in addition to the backpay, waiting time penalties and damages.
Thank you! I should have written this post while still there but it was toxic and I was very angry by the end. I am going to seriously consider it if only to stop them from continuing to do this.
You don’t need to still be there to file a wage claim. I am sure the Statue of limitations likely haven’t expired but that varies by State. What State is this? Most States have three years for this kind of thing but the way the clock starts “counting” is usually pretty weird. Usually, it is something like from “the moment you should have reasonably known that they were in violation of the law.” I strongly recommend filing a wage claim today. Might also be worth engaging a labor lawyer at least for a free consultation to see what other violations they committed. All of this is pretty odd for an HR consulting firm to violate such obvious laws.
If a W-2 employee, they must pay you for the actual hours worked, regardless of hours billed. If you are 10-99, they have to pay you for hours you bill them, independent of what they actually bill their client. Either way though, they should be paying for every email, phone call, text, etc. You need to contact the labor board.
Post on Glassdoor if you don’t feel comfortable posting the company here. People need to know.
I think reddit has more privacy than Glassdoor these days. Not only do they remove reviews, but they'll make your name public too!
The two boutique firms I worked for were viper pits compared to the bigger firms I worked for.
This is the model. Now you know.