Temporary Help

lhill

We are an electrical distribution company and recently decided to hire students on a temporary part time basis to clean meters on a piece work basis. We know they have to make minimum wage, but they could make considerably more if they are quick. I put together packets: Policy explaining our temporary-part time employment and piece work agreement, I-9, and W-4. We were to have several students come in last Saturday for this work. This morning the manager of that department hands me a completed package and said, "I hope this is not a problem". The "problem" was that he had taken meters home and his wife did them. She completed 100 meters on Saturday and Sunday, while the student worker completed 15 meters on Saturday. Our policy regarding employment of relatives states that relatives cannot work in the same department or chain of command. So--is would it cause a problem to treat the temporary part-time piece worker different from a regular employee?

Linda

JM in ATL

Assuming that you had hired these folks through a temp agency- it would be different and you could make the exception, but if they are payrolled employees, they are subject to follow company policy.

HRinFL

Did his wife complete the hiring paperwork? Did she go through the hiring process. I think this is a bigger problem than just the manager circumventing the hiring process, which is a big problem to me.

One issue is why the manager took the meters home. I believe that he saw this as a way for his wife to earn some extra money, while still being able to cook his dinner and bring him a cold beer during the football game. If she had not been "hired," either through you or the temp agency (although from your post it appears to me that your company did not go through a temp agency, merely classified these positions as temp or seasonal employment so there would be no misconceptions about the length of employment, etc.). I have a problem with him taking work hoime, not only if she was not an "employee," but also because that is company property and should not leave the premises for any reason.

Secondly, if she is not an ee and got hurt performing work for your company, you would be screwed (hopefully that is not offensive). Having this situation would be very costly for you.

Additionally, if he took 100 home for his wife, and no one else averaged more than 15, he has directly limited the amount of money that the other ees can/vould earn. That to me is a major problem. Not that they did not do 100 (there may have been that many for them to do), but that there was not the opportunity for them to have those 100 meters there to do. I think that you need to cut the wife a check for the work she did, explain that he is not to take product home that belongs to the company, and explain that his wife is not employed by your company and cannot perfrom any work for the company. I would also counsel him and explain that this makes the company exposed to unnecessary liability and that if it happens again, he will be terminated.