Urban Outfitters parent company asks employees to work for free

[demmiblue]

Source: Philly.com

If you work at Urban Outfitters, your bosses want you to work for free. To keep up with the increased seasonal demand, the parent company of Urban Outfitters, URBN, which also owns Free People and Anthropologie, sent an employee-only email calling for volunteers.

URBN, which is headquartered in Philadelphia, asked its salaried employees to engage in “a team-building activity,” picking, packing and preparing packages for shipment.

Part of the email reads:

“URBN is seeking weekend volunteers to help out at our fulfillment center in Gap, PA. October will be the busiest month yet for the center, and we need additional helping hands to ensure the timely shipment of orders. As a volunteer, you will work side by side with your GFC colleagues to help pick, pack and ship orders for our wholesale and direct customers.”

More: http://www.philly.com/philly/blogs/style/Urban-Outfitters-parent-company-asks-employees-work-for-free.html

[joeybee12]

1. Someone needs to report them to the labor board...nt

[Major Nikon]

17. A salaried employee who is FLSA exempt isn't entitled to overtime pay

Companies can order them to work the additional hours without any extra compensation.

[saturnsring]

21. i saw that as well as a salaried employee youre paid on a 24 basis

so you volunteer but it isn't for free b/c as a salaried employee youre paid at that time anyway

[Major Nikon]

24. Yes, it's pretty much up to the employer's discretion

Some will set normal working hours and allow employees compensatory time for anything worked over and some may offer overtime pay, but some just say tough-shit.

[joeybee12]

23. But they're doing work that should be done by others...

It's not what falls under their current job description. These supervisors don't work in this department...

[Major Nikon]

25. It's not just supervisors

All sorts of employees can be FLSA exempt, and if they aren't represented by a union the employer can make them scrub toilets if they want. If an employee believes they are spending too much time in FLSA non-exempt activities they can challenge their exemption with the DOL, but few employees actually do.

[joeybee12]

27. You can't just have someone volunteer in another department

and do the work outside of your department...doesn't work that way...if the labor board can't help, they can sue, and thye'd win...there was a similar lawsuit in California a few years back. besides, they are calling it a "team-building" exercise to get around the rules.

[Major Nikon]

33. Kinda hard to sue an employer when there's no violation of the law

I don't know what the state labor laws are like in California, but I know of no federal labor law which would prevent this.

[Dustlawyer]

28. Bingo!

So the company has extra orders ($$$) and want volunteers instead of paying the OT. They remember who volunteered and who DIDN'T! You cannot unknow who voluteered and the volunteers are mostly going to be suck ups or afraid for their jobs, though I am sure the company said many times there would be no penalty for not volunteering, that would only serve to make the employees more afraid. As soon as a suck up gets promoted over someone who did not "voluteer", the lawsuit will hit them so fast it will make your head spin.
I guess they think they have found a loophole in Federal labor law to exploit. I don't think it is going to work out the way they want. They risk lawsuits, judgements and a PR nightmare all for greed. My guess is that their greed has blinded them so that they can see nothing wrong with this.
How stupid can they be? They think the "volunteer" part gets them off of the hook?

[Major Nikon]

34. How would it be any different than if they had ordered the employees to do it?

[LiberalArkie]

37. It won'y be promotion as much as the yearly pay raise of 1.5% vs 1.0% for the non volunteer.

And since it is against HR rules to tell anyone else how much you make. Well who is to know.

[jeff47]

40. Behold the magic power of "And other duties as assigned". (nt)

[SteveG]

60. However they must make more than $455 per week.

Otherwise they are entitled to overtime pay. Here is the test to determine if a salaried employee is exempt from overtime laws.
YES

NO

2. Is the employee compensated on a salary basis at a rate not less than $455 per week?


If no, stop. The employee is not exempt.

3. Please describe the incumbents primary duty :

Is this primary duty directly related to the management or general business operations of the university or its customers? 6


If no, the employee is not exempt under this test.

3. Does the incumbents primary duty require the exercise of discretion and independent judgment with respect to matters of significance? If yes, does the employee:


If no, the employee is not exempt under this test.

Have the authority to formulate, affect, interpret, or implement management policies or operating practices? If yes, please provide an example:





Carry out major assignments in conducting the operations of the university?





Perform work that affects business operations to a substantial degree?





Have the authority to commit the university in matters that have significant financial impact? If yes, please provide an example:





Have authority to waive or deviate from established policies and procedures without prior approval? If yes, please provide an example:





Provide consultation or expert advice to management?





Have authority to negotiate and bind the university on significant matters? If yes, please provide an example:





Have involvement in planning long or short-term business objectives?





Investigate and resolve matter of significance on behalf of management? If yes, please provide an example:





Represent the university in handling complaints, arbitrating disputes or resolving grievances? If yes, please provide an example:


- See more at: http://www.shrm.org/templatestools/samples/hrforms/articles/pages/1cms_018238.aspx#sthash.w1oYsbei.dpuf

[Major Nikon]

61. My qualifier makes that assumption along with all the others you listed

If someone is classified as FLSA exempt, then those conditions should be met, or the employer has bigger problems than just asking said employees to perform voluntary additional duties.

[villager]

2. Shouldn't the CEO be leading by example, in this regard?

[hobbit709]

3. How about the idiots that came up with this idea work for free?

[hollysmom]

5. lots of companies have been doing this for decades, like UPS. worst company out there.

[hobbit709]

6. If they tried that with me it would be "Pay me or I'm outa here"

I don't work for free.

[hollysmom]

13. easier said than done,

in management overtime is expected. I don't know very many people who don't do it. But UPS asks not only for overtime, but as drivers during the holiday and during strikes.
I was always salaried, so have been taken advantage more than once, I don't mind it so much if it is when a project is due and we are in crunch as long as we get comp time or understandings that lunches could last long, but they pretty much expect it every week now.

[hobbit709]

18. I always worked hourly. I never wanted to be a stuporvisor type.

Overtime is time and a half or you don't see me.

The only time I put in free was volunteer stuff, if it was job related it was pay me or else.

[KansDem]

14. I would say, "Pardon me? 'Work for fee?' Sure, I'll work for fee!"

I would cup my ear to make it seem like I was hard of hearing. Then when they said, "No, work for free," I would look shocked and then fall down on the floor laughing hysterically.

[bluedigger]

4. I'm ready to step up and help out by not purchasing their goods.

I like to call it volunteer consumerism.

[workinclasszero]

52. Me too!

[olddots]

7. I luckally I can't afford the slave made dreck they sell

partially because of the greed of their CEO etc..... Have you noticed chain stores do most of their business during holidays because the vibe of the store's owners turns people away .

[Solly Mack]

8. How many are afraid to not comply out of fear of losing their job?

That's fucked up.

[laundry_queen]

53. It's a very common tactic

It's happened at a few places I've worked at. I once worked at a large fishing equipment store and they were always asking us to volunteer at this derby or that derby. I resisted for quite some time, before someone let me know management was 'concerned' with my lack of 'team spirit' because derbies were about 'fun and relaxation'. So I went (to an ice fishing derby and got frostbite on my feet). ugh. it was a 12 hour day of serving people food, weighing fish, keeping track of teams etc. No pay. It sucked ass.

[Solly Mack]

56. Just another way to treat workers like dirt.

I hope your feet didn't sustain any lasting damage.

[laundry_queen]

57. It wasn't the first time

I did have severe frostbite at least once before that so my feet were already very sensitive to it, so I couldn't tell if my cold sensitivity in my feet was due to that instance or still from the time before. It was probably the time before that (it was so bad my feet were too swollen to wear my normal shoes - that time was solely my fault as a dumb 14 year old too cool to wear boots) and that more severe instance may have had something to do with me be susceptible to it at the derby I guess.

Then I had babies and my circulation changed and now my feet are always too warm, LOL. So everything is fine now.

Also, at the derby I really didn't have proper boots. It's not like I was paid enough to afford good boots either (Back then you couldn't get good ones unless you wanted to fork out quite a bit).

Oh, and it was a sexist workplace. The guys started at $0.50 more an hour than I did because they had a different title (that's how they got around the labor laws here at the time) even though our jobs were very close to the same description. And then one time I was hurt at home, stepped on a nail and my foot became infected so I couldn't stand up for 8.5 hours a day. My manager gave me a stool to sit on instead of standing. The owner of the business didn't like me doing cashier work sitting on a stool, so sent me home without pay for 2 weeks until my doctor okay'd me being on my feet. Apparently sitting on a stool (which, by the way, in no way affected my ability to do my job) "looked lazy".

They also used to make me close without getting paid. My pay stopped when the store's doors closed, but I was expected to clean up and count my cash and balance the tills on my own time. I kept track of all the times I did that - dates, times, circumstances - so when I got laid off I gave them my little sheet with all of the extra time I worked and told them I had called the labor board (I actually had, that's what gave me the courage to hand my timesheet in). I received ALL of my back pay on my last check.

Anyway, that got long. But yes, companies find ALL kinds of ways to screw workers out of their time. I could list a dozen right now off the top of my head from places I've worked.

[suffragette]

67. Exactly. And it's a double shaft - coercing those workers to work for free or lose jobs

(or receive poor evals) and not paying appropriate overtime to the hourly employees working those jobs and/or hiring temp workers for seasonal work.

[Dont call me Shirley]

9. WTF! I'll encourage my daughter not to shop there.

[gregcrawford]

10. And corporatist sociopaths are saying...

... "WHAT? Anything that benefits us is good. YOU people don't matter!"

[KamaAina]

11. I'm shocked. Shocked! </sarc>

Its founder is Sen. Frothy Mixture's chief financial backer.

[KamaAina]

12. Gap, PA?

Shouldn't they change the name to Urban Outfitters, PA? And shouldn't The Gap sue them?

[yardwork]

15. What complete and total assholes.

[Aerows]

16. Are there any questions?

If you are wondering why companies have shredded wages to the bone, this is an example.

How can a poor CEO expect to live off of merely $1.35 Billion (yes, with a B).



Poor thing has only a $1 million dollar salary and stock options.

I guess I could ask employees to work for free with a straight fucking face if I was worth 1.35 billion dollars, because the most stressful thing I would do in a day is wipe my behind.

Here is this asshole's profile: http://www.forbes.com/profile/richard-hayne/

[Nay]

39. Geez, with that salary, you'd think this asshole could get a haircut and some clothes

that actually fit.

[wolfie001]

19. When did bosses become such base animals!

Oh yeah, after Ronnie Raygun........

[hifiguy]

20. It used to be that the definition of chutzpah

was the guy who murdered his parents and then threw himself on the mercy of the court because he was an orphan.

This tops that. Handily.

Fuck them with an iron stick.

[Ms. Toad]

63. I hope you'll delete your rape advocacy comment. n/t

[zentrum]

22. Wow.

But they'll give them bread crusts and water, to keep their strength up, so what's the problem?

[ryan_cats]

26. As a salaried employee

As a salaried employee.
My goal is exactly 40 hours.
My company's goal is anything past 40.

[olddots]

29. everyone sing along

He'd look better in a sweater
made of concrete . LA. LA. LA .

[BlueJazz]

30. Must be hard for them to work there while walking around with a 2X4 stuck up their asses.

[allan01]

31. in a pigs eye

[SheilaT]

32. When my sons were much younger,

they worked at a local multi-plex. One day we'd gone there to see a movie, and the manager grabbed them and said that a shipment of something had just arrived, and would they be willing to help move the stuff into the back. Sure, they both said. He then said, go clock in.

They each worked maybe fifteen minutes. He was a good guy, and they'd have done it for free, but he did EXACTLY what all bosses should understand: You NEVER work off the clock.

[4dsc]

35. GFY is the only I can think of here

EOM

[valerief]

36. Maybe the 5 execs could offer some of their salary totalling over 12 million.

http://insiders.morningstar.com/trading/executive-compensation.action?t=URBN

[Unknown Beatle]

38. They have big balls to be asking them to work for free.

[PowerToThePeople]

41. A Union shop would not allow this.

I hope they get zero volunteers.

[JDPriestly]

48. I hope that Bernie's union bill gets passed by Congress.

I know that can't happen this year or even next, but eventually I hope we get a Congress that is pro-union.

A vote for Bernie is a vote for unions and fair labor practices.

Feel the Bern!

[SoapBox]

42. Hell, my employer did that for years...

They may still be doing it but I just don't pay attention to such crap.

We have SO many pudding brains that think it's really going to "help" the company (we make billions in profit now) and/or they think it will help them claw their way up (when there is no place to claw up to!)

[hughee99]

43. As a team building exercise, grab your pitchforks

And torches and let's wish the people at the home office a happy Halloween.

[MillennialDem]

44. My boss is doing something like this - at a government job (college)

wanting people to volunteer to do certain customer service tasks for free. Wrote a comment in my evaluation that I don't do enough of that.

Of course, I have more classes than the people who tend to do that stuff (I often don't have time, at all. conflicts with work schedule).

[JDPriestly]

47. Talk to an attorney. I can't comment on your specific situation, but a lot of attorneys, especially

employment attorneys might talk to you at least once for free.

Read your contract. It all depends, but it is worth a chat with a lawyer.

I can't tell you where you stand. But you should check on it.

[JDPriestly]

45. Are you sure that means they work for free?

Couldn't they just volunteer for the overtimer? Couldn't that be a request for volunteers for overtime?

I think the ad is being misinterpreted.

[groundloop]

49. Article said SALARIED employees

Those of us who are salaried aren't eligible for overtime pay.

Essentially they're asking their salaried employees to work for free so that they don't have to pay overtime to hourly employees.

[JDPriestly]

59. Sorry. If the employees are salaried, the employer could probably simply tell them when to

show up.

A lot of Americans are viewed as salaried when their jobs would be more appropriately paid by the hour.

That is pretty ugly.

And of course, the company is asking employees to volunteer their time right in the Christmas season when there is so much to do and when being with family is so important.

Companies increased profits for quite a while by firing employees. They are now down to the bare bones with employees. They can't fire any more and stay in business.

So now they put their employees on salary so they can eke a few free hours of work out of them. That's pretty horrible.

Time for some change.

Bernie is introducing a pro-union, pro-labor bill into Congress.

Feel the Bern!

[GreatGazoo]

46. Urban Outrageous! n/t

[Renew Deal]

50. That's really bad.

And I bet some people might do it.

[procon]

51. Every salaried employee who works for free is stealing money from an hourly worker.

There's a company that really needs a union and a visit from the government folks who investigate wage theft.

[GoneOffShore]

54. Time for a union

[ProudToBeBlueInRhody]

55. LOL, this company is something else

How about they volunteer to wash the CEO's BMW?

[dilby]

58. Well I guess it all depends on if you like your job and company.

The company I work for we are all salary and we are all expected to get the job done, we don't have time cards or a boss checking to see what time we arrived and what time we leave. Mostly I put in about 45 hours a week sometimes I put in 60 and sometimes I put in 30. But I am justly compensated with good benefits and great company perks. Sometimes another department might be overloaded with work and they will ask for volunteers to help out, it's more hours for the volunteer without extra pay but if you didn't help out then that department would do all the work and they would not get extra pay either so helping out doesn't save the company any money it just helps your co-workers. And sometimes when your department is overloaded you get help from other departments, it all works out in the end and everyone is happy.

[ret5hd]

69. uh huh..,that's what they're asking'...free labor from salaried employees.

glad you are lubed and ready. we need more like you.

[dilby]

70. I make more than I ever did hourly.

If I am being lubed I hope they keep doing it. Because I made 30k in bonuses this year as did everyone else in the company. I am a huge union supporter however I work for an extremely liberal company that actually treats their employees with respect and rewards us.

[Initech]

62. If you expect me to work for free, fuck you.

[TBF]

64. Anthropologie, Free People, and Urban Outfitters -

with what they charge for their clothes they ought to be paying those employees A LOT of cash.

http://www.anthropologie.com

[snooper2]

65. How do people know it's not directed at lazy ass middle management?

Hey lazy ass middle management-

Get in the warehouse and help the grunts for a weekend

[HughBeaumont]

66. Urban Outshitters: Selling Thrift Store Clothes at Saks 5th Prices!

DON'T even tell me they can't afford to pay their workers, with their $150 jeans for the Westlake princess set.

[hedgehog]

68. K&R