How can I help my wife with career path?

[wienerdog]

My wife's stressed out and depressed working at her current company. It seems we both can't find luck with our employers. She works at a small jewelry manufacturer and is told their fall hours begin in September and run through December, requiring her to be there 8:30 AM to 7:30 PM Mon-Fri, and occassional Saturdays, which was not communicated before being hired. This is regardless if there's even that much work to do, it's simply "Company Policy." She does not get paid overtime, and the company does not give you specified vacation days or sick days, if you want time off, you have to ask the owner of the company for permission, and justify your day off to him. She comes into work every week to find mouse droppings on her desk to clean up. The company seems to not find it necessary to call an exterminator.

She majored in fashion mechandising at a reputable school in New York City, and has been through a variety of retail buying positions. There's not much opportunity in her field, in the Philadelphia suburbs, and she's not really picky, just wants a decent job paying something similar to her current salary, regardless of what the field is. Are there decent career counselors out there to help? I'm not even sure what to tell her anymore, but getting home at 8:30 PM every night for no other reason than "Company Policy" seems ridiculous, and unfair.

[morea]

If I were her, I would look into calling OSHA.

[morea]

here's their site: http://www.osha.gov/

[PrintDriver]

10 hour days are no reason to call OSHA (assuming there is an hour's worth of break time in there). Sorry.

You could possibly get away with calling the board of health if there is an uncorrected mouse infestation. Does the company lease the building? Depending on the lease, exterminators are usually landlord responsibility.

Either suck it up or move on.

For a career counselor look in yellow pages (big phone book with yellow pages). Or try your state employment office (unemployment agency).

[wienerdog]

10 hour days are no reason to call OSHA (assuming there is an hour's worth of break time in there). Sorry.

You could possibly get away with calling the board of health if there is an uncorrected mouse infestation. Does the company lease the building? Depending on the lease, exterminators are usually landlord responsibility.

Either suck it up or move on.

for a career counselor look in yellow pages (big phone book with yellow pages). Or try your state employment office (unemployment agency).

Yeah, that hour break does not exist. She usually only gets a chance to eat at her desk (which considering the mouse droppings, should probably stop).

[morea]

mouse droppings = health risk = OSHA.

10 hour days? Well, time to start looking for a new job.

[PrintDriver]

Mouse droppings = health risk = board of health.
OSHA is safety and health as it pertains to safety. (ie asbestos,isocyanates, and other airborn things, like sawblades). Nothing about animal droppings here:
http://www.osha.gov/SLTC/index.html

[morea]

lol, okie doke. But I prefer my desk sans droppings. :D

Incidentally, what if you can convince them that the droppings contain asbestos? :p

[EC]

I'd probably check with the labor board as well. It sounds like some of their "policies" might actually be illegal. Workers are entitled to breaks.

And not only that, but at least in our state, you have to be a licensed professional (such as an engineer, doctor, etc.) to be considered truly "salaried" and exempt from the 40 hour work week & anything additional is overtime rule. She may, depending on state law, be entitled to back pay.

I'm no lawyer, but it's worth checking into.

[PrintDriver]

Oooohhhohoo, I don't think that salary rule will fly. You sign up under salary, you get paid salary, be sure you know what "Salary" means before you take the job.

Been there. Done that.

[jimking]

Mouse droppings = health risk = board of health.
OSHA is safety and health as it pertains to safety. (ie asbestos,isocyanates, and other airborn things, like sawblades). Nothing about animal droppings here:
http://www.osha.gov/SLTC/index.html

Printdriver's correct, don't waste your time with OSHA. There is a career book that you can view at your library (can not checkout) that is several thousand pages. The book is huge. It list the skills, type of training, pay-- on and on. Can be very handy. There is a particular name for this book but can't recall it.

[colonel5]

i like salary and peanut butter with raisins in it

[morea]

You sign up under salary, you get paid salary, be sure you know what "Salary" means before you take the job.

Ouch! No kidding. That's a tough one to learn by doing. At the print shop where I used to work, salaried employees had to work a minimum of 48 hours per week.

The salary looked more appealing to those who thought it was for 40 hours work.

[defjoe]

it is the law she gets at least a half hour break... but that is all I think.

[wienerdog]

Y'know, if a job requires lots of work and you're busy for an extra couple hours a day, so be it. But when the company's policy is you have to come up with a reason why you can't be in the office 11 hours a day, that just doesn't make sense. The company makes the hourly employees who manufacture products work those hours to prepare for holiday retail demand, but they get paid OVERTIME for it.

When questioned, the owner claims if those employees have to stay late, everyone should. But if you're salary, that's totally unfair! It's one of those old-school mentalities that the hours you're in the office determines your performance, which is soooo incredibly stupid. I told her to surf the web, write e-mails (which they are too stupid to even keep track of) if they keep you chained to the desk without a reason or workload to justify it. She doesn't mind it every few days, but every day of the week is unnecessary. Espcially on Monday's when the owner likes to have meetings, and feels they should be at 8 AM because god forbid a meeting eats into the required 11 hour day.

I don't mind working a few hours overtime, even if I was on a salary, as long as it's recognized and appreciated, and if the work load requires it. But not to just sit there. If your work is done, go home. Eat dinner, that meal that families used to get together to enjoy and bond. We seriously worry we can't even adopt a dog because of our hours, let alone have a kid. The government loves to blame entertainment for corrupting the youth, when it's actually lack of discipline and supervision. I think it's because parents are over-worked.

[greyghost]

I *think* the law is a half hour break every 4 hours. I could be wrong.

But I have worked during "season" at a major newspaper where I was there at 7:30 in the morning and had to work until 2 am. Season lasts 4 months. We DID get paid time and a half for overtime, so the money was great. But there were not time for breaks - if you took a break, you'd be there that much longer just because of the workload.

The only part of working that much that bothered me was just that my house was never cleaned up!

[wienerdog]

I *think* the law is a half hour break every 4 hours. I could be wrong.

But I have worked during "season" at a major newspaper where I was there at 7:30 in the morning and had to work until 2 am. Season lasts 4 months. We DID get paid time and a half for overtime, so the money was great. But there were not time for breaks - if you took a break, you'd be there that much longer just because of the workload.

The only part of working that much that bothered me was just that my house was never cleaned up!

Yeah, that, and stress, and no life, plenty of money with no time to enjoy it. I wouldn't even mind working that much if I could do it from a home office set-up.