Blackberries and Overtime
Will Blackberries spawn a slew of over-time claims from workers who peeked at their emails from home? This article on Law.com on law.com suggests that the plaintiff's attorneys are gearing up already. But this article by Workplace Prof Blog thinks that, at least now, most people with work-related blackberries are exempt anyway.
I personally never underestimate the power of the plaintiffs' bar to find new ways to mix up a law suit out of left overs. Which is not to say that there might not be a situation where employers are not giving hourly employees any rest because they are expected to respond to emails day and night from their blackberry.
But I agree with Workplace Prof Blog that I doubt many employers are spending money giving hourly employees blackberries. Right now, most blackberry-carrying employees are exempt and therefore not eligible for overtime.
And while I agree with the authors of the law.com article that good policies and procedures are called for, I think it's naive (and wont fly before a labor board) to say that all you need to do is have a policy saying employees need to "get permission" to use your blackberry after work hours.
Telecommuting is a passion on mine, but in a way, blackberries are not about telecommuting. They are not a substitute for having a computer at home. They are a tool for road warriors, who may telecommute or not.
What's called for is for employers to constantly update their personnel policies to reflect the reality of modern technology. Why are you giving employees blackberries? Do you want them available 24/7? What are your expectations, and have you made them clear? Often companies don't make their expectations clear in new, updated policies. But sometimes management itself has no idea why it's giving out blackberries other than that it "seems the thing to do."
Well that's a swell way to make decisions.
