The Whole Story

I met a guy yesterday that said, "I did some research online and I found a study that said 12-hour shifts are more dangerous than 8-hour shifts." 

There is a lot of information about safety and productivity on 12's verses 8's.  Here are a couple of examples of complete/incomplete information:

Incomplete: People sleep more on an 8-hour shift than on a 12-hour shift.
Complete:  People on an 8-hour shift sleep about 10 minutes more per night than those on 12-hour shifts. However, both people sleep about an hour more on their days off.  Since 12's have more days off, a person working 12's actually averages more sleep per week than someone on 12's (see Occupational Health and Safety magazine online, March 2008)

Incomplete:  "I saw a study that showed more accidents occur after 8 hours of work."
Complete:  That study showed that people working overtime after putting in a full week have more accidents during that overtime period.  The truth is that 8-hour shifts that cover 24/7, have to rotate (a mathematical fact).  There is overwhelming evidence showing poor safety and poor health on rotating schedules.  There are plenty of studies showing 12's are at least as productive and safe as 8's, even if the 8's were fixed (and therefore not part of a 24/7 coverage).

Incomplete:  "I know a guy that was on a 12-hour schedule.  He died of a heart attack.  Therefore 12's are bad."
Equally Incomplete: "I know a guy that died in his sleep, so sleeping must be bad."

If you have perfect information, then you know 12's are a safe and productive alternative to 8's.  Just as importantly, people that go to a 12-hour schedule have 3 times the schedule satisfaction as those that go to an 8-hour schedule.

Distribution of Information

I am at a loss as to how to distribute the information contained in my last few posts on this blog.

People need to know what it out there.

Misinformation is keeping California in the dark.

Free up our roads.  Bring in more business.  Improve the quality of life for all Californians.

To do this, we simply need to eliminate the need to pay overtime after 8 hours in a day.  Every other state has done it; and with great success.

If you read this and agree, please pass it along.

Misleading California Labor Law

There are those that will tell you that there is a provision in the labor law that allows for alternative work weeks.

In fact, there is.  However, it only allows for 10-hour shifts and only under certain conditions.

Those that wrote this law divulge their non-understanding of the way people work and the way jobs need to be covered.  Simply being in position to legislate, does not make one an expert.  It's like taking a Drug Lord that knows how to make crystal Meth and expecting him to be able to make anti-inflammatory drugs.

The law was clearly written with no input from the workforce or the employers.

Here is an example:  If you want to work 4 hours of overtime, you must provide an additional lunch break.  The break need not be paid.  If you ask employees, they will tell you to skip the unpaid 30-minutes since it will allow them to get home earlier.  If you ask companies, they will say, "We are already paying time and one-half for those additional 4 hours, we should be able to get 4 hours of work, not 3.5 hours."

Both employees and employers would rather have a 10-15 minute paid break than a 30 minute lunch break.

California Overtime Law

California requires employers to pay overtime after 8 hours in a day.

The result is that no company works compressed workweeks.  A compressed workweek is one where you work longer shifts to get more days off. 

Compare the following:

Under California's law: A 3-week schedule averaging 40 hours a week

WEEK    M            TU          W            TH           F              S              S

   1           8              8              8              8              8              off          off

   2           8              8              8              8              8              off          off

   3           8              8              8              8              8              off          off

120 hours and 15 shifts in 3 weeks.

Under laws outside of California: A 3-week schedule averaging 40 hours a week

WEEK    M            TU          W            TH           F              S              S

   1           12           12           12           off           off           off          off

   2           off           off           12           12           12           off          off

   3           12           12           off           12           12           off          off

120 hours and 10 shifts in 3 weeks.

So, if you get rid of overtime after 8 hours in a day, you open the door for a schedule like the one above; a schedule that gives you 85 more days off every year.

Change California's Labor Laws

Suppose someone asked you the following: “Would you rather be paid overtime after 8 hours in a day and 40 hours in a week or only after 40 hours in a week?”

What would you say?

Given the lack of any other information, you might choose “Overtime after 8 hours in a day and 40 hours in a week.” 

Why wouldn’t you?  It seems, on the surface, to get you more income while protecting you from ruthless, slave-driver employers.

The problem with this question is that it does not give you a complete picture of your options.

I have spent the last 22 years essentially asking this same question to hourly workers all around the world.  However, I offer a complete picture of what is being asked.

If I were to ask that same question of 100 perfectly informed people, 75 of them would give up overtime after 8 hours in a day.  Then, a year after the overtime after 8 hours goes away, 95 out of 100 want it to stay that way.

This is not speculation.  It’s a fact that no one, anywhere, is more qualified than myself to know.

Every state in the union seems to agree with me; that is to say, every state other than California, and to some extent, Oregon.

The following explains the folly of California’s insistence on a law that requires overtime to be paid after 8 hours in a day:

I am going to solve California’s budget problems right here; right now.

Throw out the state’s 2001 labor laws.

I’m not saying let employers run all over the working class.  I’m saying, get rid of the current laws and implement those that 48 of the other 49 states have.

Specifically, toss out the standard of overtime after 8 hours in a day.  Get rid of it.  That is a state law and only California has it.  All of the other states use the Federal standard of overtime after 40 hours in a week.  Oregon is the lone exception with a law for overtime over 10 hours in a day.

Here’s the deal. This law chases companies out of the state and costs our employees money and valuable time off. 

Here is why.

Let’s look at two conditions.  The first condition will be that of a Monday – Friday person.

If you work Monday- Friday for 8 hours a day, you will work 2080 hours a year, get 2080 hours of pay and come to work 260 days a year.

If you went to a 12-hour schedule, you would work ten 12-hour shifts every three weeks.  This means two weeks of 36 hours and one week of 48 hours for an average of 40 hours per week over the 3-week period.  Since you get overtime after 40 in a week, the week with 48 hours in it pays 52 hours (8 hours of overtime).  So, your average work week remains at 40 hours but your average pay week is 41.33 hours and you work an average of 3.33 days per week.  Total pay hours per year (52 * 41.33) is 2149.  Total workdays per year (52 * 3.33) is 173.

In summary, you get 87 more days off per year and earn an additional 69 hours of pay.  All you had to do was give up overtime after 8 hours in a day.

The second condition is for an around the clock operation, a refinery for example.  An 8-hour schedule has 273 annual workdays and 2236 annual pay hours.  A 12-hour schedule has 182 annual workdays and 2288 pay hours.  So, a 12-hour schedule has 91 more days off per year and pays 52 more pay hours per year.

Getting rid of overtime after 8 hours in a day is seen a “bad” but only by those that can’t do math.  I’ve spent the last 22 years asking people if they want longer days to get more days off and the answer is yes by a margin of 3 to 1 (this becomes 9.5 to 1 after they have experienced the change).

Studies have shown 12-hour shifts to be equally productive and safe when compared to 8-hour shifts with equal numbers of hours (i.e. fifteen 8-hour shifts = ten 12-hour shifts = 120 hours).  Additionally, I published an article in OSHA magazine that shows how people on longer shifts with more days off actually get more sleep than those working several shorter shifts.

So far, nothing I have said it speculation.  It’s undeniably true.

Now let’s speculate.

Going from 8-hour shifts to 12-hour shifts means you reduce the number of annual workdays by 33%.

What would the roads look like if we cut the number of commuters by 33%?

How much less pollution would we put in the air with fewer cars and less traffic?

How much less would the average person pay for gas and auto maintenance every year?

How much productive value is lost while we are stuck in traffic?  What would happen if we reduced that time lost to traffic by 33% - without building a single new road?

How would the economy benefit with everyone making slightly more money with more days off?

Did you know that companies currently stay out of California just because of this law?  If a company is going to run 24/7, they WILL NOT come to California.  No one wants to work those 8-hour schedules.  These companies can go to any other state and attract better employees while lowering their own costs.

So, why does California have the law that it has?  Why is it different from all of the others?  Why is it in worse financial condition that any other state?  Why does it have the worst roads and infrastructure?

Well, those that make the laws think they know what is best for you.  They think that those that pay into their campaign coffers know what is best for you.  Only people that belong to a union may agree to not be paid overtime after 8 hours in a day.  In California, only union members can enjoy the extra days off and extra money that every other person in every other state enjoys.

If you belong to a union, a simple majority is all that is needed to work what is referred to as a Compressed Work Week.  All others can have 100% agree to no overtime after 8 hours and the law would remain in place (still overtime after 8) – condemning them to 50% more days of work for less money.

This law, as written, punishes only the vast majority.

I have called the people that wrote this law and they said that in 2000, they had a public hearing and I should have gone.  I don’t know about you, but I’m not on the state's “Come to our public hearing” email list.  I suggested they do a scientific study instead of basing their choices on a few people that show up at a town hall meeting.

While I had them on the phone, I asked a question about overtime.  I asked,” can overtime in California be forced?” and the writers of the law said, “Yes.”  I then called the branch the “enforces” the law and they said, “No.”  To this I said, “I have the Wage Order in my hand and I can’t see where it says that; and, by the way, the people that wrote the law disagree with you.  Perhaps you can show me where it says that overtime cannot be forced.”

They answered with, “It’s in there and you can find it yourself.”

So, the authors of the law and the enforcers of the law, disagree on what the law says.  There is a publication out to help explain the law.  It takes about 10 pages of explanation to explain every page of the law.  No wonder no one knows what’s in there.

To be fair, the authors of the bill did write some language about Alternative Work Weeks into the law.  However, it's so poorly written and restrictive, they might as we have said, "This applies only to left-handed tuba players from southern Russia."

Change the law.  Save money for the state.  Get more days off and more money for yourself.

If you agree with what I’ve written here, please pass this link along to your friends.

CaliforniaLaborLaw.blogspot.com