(EMAILWIRE.COM, June 26, 2002 ) The proliferation of employer-required cell phones, pagers, laptops, PCs, and other wonders of a modern mobile-workplace are to credit--or blame--for the fact that half of Americans now say that they take their work home. The survey also found that 21 percent of workers surveyed said that their employer's compensation policies for working outside the office "take advantage" of them.

Survey results are from the latest "America At Work" public opinion survey of 1,000 adults commissioned by the Employment Law Alliance (ELA).

Susan Stahlfeld of the ELA member law firm Miller Nash LLP in Seattle says that the poll demonstrates how technology is having a profound impact on the American workplace. "The technology has created a 24-hour workplace, but there are hazards, legal and otherwise, in creating a 24-hour employee when that employee is not a member of management or otherwise exempt," she said. "The poll suggests why we're seeing a huge number of employee class-action suits over uncompensated time for work performed outside the regular workplace and that organizations--large and small, private and nonprofit--have to confront this issue."

The national poll of 1,000 men and women, conducted by Reed Haldy McIntosh & Associates, of Media, Pennsylvania, focused on "non-exempt" employees, those whose work hours are legally regulated and who are entitled to overtime compensation. The poll was fielded within the past two weeks. Survey Director Dr. Theodore Reed outlined the results as follows:

Overtime

31 percent said that they spend at least three hours a week away from their regular workplace responding to work-related e-mail, voice mail, pagers, or some other electronic form of work-related communication.
49 percent of employees said that they spend at least three hours a week conducting work-related activities other than responding to emails, voice mails, or pagers, at home or away from the office.
Among non-exempt workers, only 17 percent said that they received some payment for their at home work while 55 percent said that they were not paid at all.
22 percent said that they were not compensated for the extra time worked because they chose not to ask for either overtime or compensatory time.
3 percent said that while they were not compensated directly, they did receive some benefit for that extra time worked, such as extra time off.
Feelings About Overtime

21 percent of non-exempt workers believe that their employer is "taking advantage" of them through their current compensation policies relating to work performed outside the regular workplace.
47 percent of non-exempt employees putting in ten or more extra hours per week feel taken advantage of, compared to only 11 percent of those working three to ten hours outside of their regular schedule and 14 percent of those working less than three extra hours.
52 percent of non-exempt workers who do not ask to be compensated for their overtime feel taken advantage of compared to those who are compensated in some way (30 percent) or not compensated at all (19 percent), suggesting that it is fear rather than dedication that prevents many of these workers from asking for their due.
"There may be no bigger issue in the American workplace, especially if you are an employer with work locations in several states," said Stahlfeld. "Employers just can't ignore the fact that non-exempt employees may be working at home merely because the employees don't ask for compensation for that time. " The highly publicized employee class-action suit against Intel over uncompensated time is but one example of how litigation arises out of these disputes, how state legislatures become deeply involved in workplace issues, and how organized labor sees one of its biggest organizing opportunities in decades. "Widespread employee unhappiness often results in expensive lawsuits," Ms. Stahlfeld noted. "Employers risk significantly more than they gain by ignoring this issue."

Dr. Reed, who with ELA created the "America At Work" series nearly two years ago, said that employers might find satisfaction in the fact that 76 percent of the workers sampled did not believe they were being taken advantage of through existing compensation policies. "However, I would be concerned about a false sense of security due to the fact that more than half of those who have not asked to be paid felt that they were being taken advantage of through existing compensation policies. This finding, combined with the fact that two out of ten workers are unhappy and feel unrewarded, is a significant problem that demands prompt attention."

The Employment Law Alliance is the world's largest integrated, global practice network composed of premier, independent law firms distinguished for their practice in employment and labor law. There are member firms in every jurisdiction in the United States and major cities throughout the world. Other recent ELA-sponsored "America At Work" public opinion surveys have focused on attitudes toward violence in the workplace and romantic relationships between supervisors and subordinates.

Editors, please note: Non-exempt employees are commonly referred to as "hourly employees" although there are exceptions. For example, salaried employees can also be non-exempt and computer professionals can be paid hourly and still be exempt -- as long as you pay them enough per hour.

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Produced for Miller Nash LLP

Contacts:

Aaron Kirk Douglas
(503) 205-2341
Director of Client Services
Miller Nash LLP

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