Contracts: April 2008 Archives
What happens when hourly employees are assigned Blackberrys or IPhones by their employer and compelled to respond to emails and text messages after the 8 hour shift? The marketing of such devices offers the plus side that such technology brings the office home or anywhere the employees happen to be. A number of legal scholars are hinting that such after-hours communicating is overtime work.
Everyone has heard or even uttered the complaint that the new technology puts them on call 24/7. No doubt attorneys and other hourly service providers are beginning to bill their clients for out of office time spent responding to emails. Logic would suggest that employees who find their employers are essentially getting their precious time for free may have a claim under wage and hour laws for the time spent out of the work place working. And employers may need to restrict the use of such devices for work related activity unless they are willing to pay for their employees’ time.
It’s a brave new world.
The London Times is reporting that Jerome Kerviel plans on suing his employer Société Générale for wrongful discharge. Kerviel you might remember was the rogue trader accused of losing his bank €5 billion in one of the world’s biggest financial scandals.
The 31 year old trader was recently released on bail after 37 days in prison on charges of breach of trust, fabricating documents and illegally accessing computers. The gist of Mr. Kerviel’s claims is that the bank violated French employment law by failing to hold a face to face meeting with its employee prior to discharge. The bank says that would have been difficult because the conditions of Kerviel’s bail forbade him from in any way communicating or contacting his employers. Good point.
