Overtime

I wonder if there is anyone out there that is forced to work O/T but also discouraged from reporting it to the Supervisors or Managers. Espically here in CA and in Texas. I know it is a hot issue now. If enough could bond on this site, I think it would be helpful.

All the time. It is standard practice in Seattle.

They pretend to take a hard stance ensuring that all employees are paid for what they work, but the reality is that if you try to claim OT they harass and harangue you, and accuse you of being "inefficient" or having "poor time managment skills."

The workload is too intense to manage in a 40-hour work week. Adjusters receive 6-10 claims per day, and are told to "get 'er done." (I can't stand that good ol' boy crap). Adjusters are constantly skipping lunches, and working off the clock in a vain attempt to hit their numbers for that raise they probably won't get anyway.

If you can't "find a way to make it happen"--ie, work off the clock!--you will find yourself unemployed pretty quick. Management is well aware this is going on but pretends not to see it. As long as they say what they think they need to say to avoid a lawsuit, and you sign that little form saying the information was relayed to you, they believe they are untouchable. Complain and you will be terminated!

I think also what is funny, is most supervisors have never worked a claim on CRN. While I enjoy CRN, they have no ideal what it really takes to work on the system yet they can tell you how to do your work. I think it is a huge credability issue for management.I have heard someone say it is not thier job to do claims on CRN and I guess that is a good excuse if your looking for an out on losing the respect of the adjusters under you.BUT, If you dont know how to do something, then how can you review to see if your underlings are doing thier job correct. It is like a bunch of high school kids running the high school.

As a current employee, I can tell you, management all the way up the chain of command is aware that employee's are working off the clock. I personally refuse to subscribe to this practice but know many others that do so because they need their job and are afraid of being labeled "inefficient"(like me). I actually requested that my manager complete a time card audit so I could play their game on a level playing field. Nothing happened(of course).I urge everyone to keep detailed records so when the next o/t lawsuit comes around,Farmers will have even a bigger surprise than last time.

Have you heard anything about an O/T lawsuit from the employees. We have heard that it was reversed. Have you had any contact with H/R and are you in Texas?

Report pressure from Farmers not to report overtime.

We continue to be very concerned about reports that claims representatives are being pressured by Farmers, explicitly or implicitly, to work off the clock. If you are pressured to work off-the-clock or to work uncompensated hours over 40 per week, please let us know.

Please contact us if your branch claims office has (or appears to have) a blanket policy of automatically denying all overtime work requests regardless of individual workload circumstances or if you are being pressured to work overtime. Your communications with us are, of course, confidential privileged attorney-client communications.

Telephone: (866) 854-8550

Email: info@farmersovertime.com.

No Retaliation

It is illegal for your managers to threaten or retaliate against you for getting information regarding your employment rights and/or for participating in an investigation or lawsuit.

For more info see:
[www.farmersovertime.com]

During a meeting last month, my manager happily announced that Farmers won the latest o/t lawauit and that upper management was now considering the possibility of changing us back to salaried employee's. Everyone in the room was shocked that this would actually be presented in a way that was supposed to be received as a "good thing". Unbeleivable the ignorance.

This company has no concern for the threat of another o/t lawsuit. Since Zurich has taken over, the only concern is for the botom line....nothing else. If Farmers is saddled with another huge judgement, Zurich will just dump Farmers and leave the remaining management to face the music. This is fact.

As a former employee I can tell you all to just bite the bullet and leave FIG and find a new job. I did it 6 years ago when I was 30. I already had 6 years in with FIG, but I just couldn't take the crap anymore. I had to take a $28,000/yr pay cut and it hurt for a while, but I have since worked my way back to making more than I ever could have at FIG.

BTW, I heard they did away with profit shraing and the pension. Is that true? If so there is really no reason, IMO, to stay with FIG.

I dont think Zurich would dump farmers over an OT lawsuit, they would just fight it like they did in CA. It will happen in Texas eventually, espically in the new West Texas Region. I have friends who work there and they are bullied out of working it and counting it.

Gil Wiseman: Great post! You have summed up Farmer's unethical O/T practices down to a "T". I wish that everyone who has ever worked at Farmers could somehow read what you wrote.