I'm an independent contractor in Florida and boss wants 9 hour days w/ 30 min. lunch.?

I'm a salaried independent contractor and on Monday my boss wants us to start working 9 hour days total w/ a 30 min. lunch "if we desire". I already work 9 hours sometimes more and hardly ever go to lunch. So technically a 8.5 hour day w/ no additional pay of course, however, start times are flexible before 9:30am. With a 30-45 minute commute on each end, this makes a very long day. His reason is, business is slow and we need to have more time in the office to gain more business and to have a more productive day. It might be time to go back to a "real" job! Love my job but hate the situation! My boss is very difficult to deal with, another 2.5 official hours a week will probably just break my spirit!

Does this seem fair? Is it even right or legal in Florida? Not so "Independent" after all!!

Judy

If your boss sets your hours and where you work, you aren't legally an independent contractor, you are an employee and he is legally required to withhold taxes and pay the employer taxes - and is also legally required to pay you overtime for hours worked over 40 in a week.

Frexible start times before 9:30 am does NOT make you legally an independent contractor.

dreamraider2001

Here's a thought, perhaps those 30 minute breaks may actually be worth taking to give your brain a break. Even if it's to get out of the office, go down to the cafeteria (if they have one), take your lunch in with you and eat something, etc. Those breaks are there for a reason, did you know that? We sit in front of a computer every day and then wonder why there's either 1) burn out starting at noon or 2) we end up leaving the jobs we love

I'm a computer programmer and let me tell you something, I took more breaks than you can shake a stick for. Why, because if I didn't I would not be able to function. Here is an example of what my day was like before I left to start full time college:

I would show up at work between 6:30am and 7:00am. I technically didn't have to be there until 7:30 but liked getting there early because things were quiet and could drink my coffee and get papers in order to start my day. By 8am I had already spoken to my manager and was informed of anything new. By 8:30am I was reading email and the company email. By 9am I was logged in to our dummy terminal and had already completed some coding. By 9:30am I was ready for my first break so I would go outside for a few minutes. Short time frame some may say however, I was staring at computer monitors and my eyes needed a break. I was ready to go for another three hours after that and kept going until around 12:30 or even 1pm working on nothing but straight punching out code into the system.

I always went on lunch break but I did not always take it away from my desk if we were on a dead line. LOL! By 2pm I could punch out another two hours on the system and do as required. If we were working on a project, I would be part way on my PC with a file there then back to the dummy terminal to code with it. There were times when I could leave by 5 pm but there were other times when I would be caught up and not out the door until 7 or 8pm. If that was the case, we (a group that were working over time) would order dinner in, take a 20 minute break then finish up for the night. Everything all depended. Put it to you this way, my hours were anywhere from 55-60 on a weekly basis and that was constant for 3 years. I loved my job and miss doing what I was doing.

Artman

Since you are an "independent" contractor you are not covered under state labor laws. If you have a contract then you and your boss must follow what it says; your boss can't change the contract overnight at will.

My advice is to keep a low profile and start looking for a new job.

Jon

It probably depends on the type of employment agreement you have. As you are salaried, that probably means that you agree to do whatever work is given, even if it takes longer than a "standard" shift. That said, if they set a specific schedule for you to follow, then you need to follow it (or risk your own unemployment).

It has nothing to do with you being "independent". That just means that if you don't like it, you are free to leave -- no?

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