“Forgotten Forefathers,” January 16
NFL’s discarded heroes deserve far better: I thoroughly enjoyed your article. Your story is very indicative of what health care is like in general: costing more and more money, with benefits going to fewer and fewer of those who need it.
I remember reading a story about Johnny Unitas in Sports Illustrated in 2001, not long before he died. It was a story about NFL benefits, about the unfairness of the NFL’s pension, and depicted other retired players as completely disabled from playing the game they loved. They had been forgotten and were literally rotting their lives away.
When Johnny Unitas revealed that his monthly pension was $3,000, I thought that was ridiculous. Unitas put the NFL on the map, and Tim Couch gets to walk away from the NFL with more than $30 million? Are you kidding me? Johnny Unitas probably played a lot longer than he should have, and at 68 years old, he could barely raise his arm to dress himself. It really sickens me with all this greed and unfairness.
When I saw that photo of Leroy Kelly on the cover, it instantly took me back. It was the first time I had picked up Scene in almost 30 years. I was the youngest of five kids growing up in Dublin, Ohio, in the late ’60s. Browns football ruled our home on Sundays. Leroy Kelly meant a lot to Ohioans. He was a role model, he was classy, he had manners, and above all, he meant everything to the kids. I recall riding with my father and four brothers all the way from Dublin to a Cleveland department store called Uncle Bill’s on a Friday night, around 1970 or so, for an autographed picture of Leroy Kelly. All my brothers wanted to be Leroy Kelly.
I’m now 50 years old with kids in college, and I still remember Leroy Kelly and Bo Scott (now a hobbling prison guard in Franklin County), Walter Johnson (now deceased), and Jerry Sherk (battered knee from turf staph infection, although Sherk went on to earn a Ph.D. in psychology). We all saw Gene Hickerson’s Hall of Fame presentation — that was the saddest thing I’ve seen in a while.
Why hasn’t anyone ever mentioned Bill Nelson? If ever there was a field-general prototype quarterback, it was Bill Nelson. The man played in constant pain. In later years, I heard he was routinely dosed with Demerol and cortisone injections to take the edge off his knee pain after every game. That is unacceptable medical care by today’s standards. I recall hearing Gib Shanley or Jim Graine broadcasting games, telling the audience that Bill Nelson “got his knees drained again today.” Today a player can be sidelined for a whole game with just a “stinger” or three or four weeks with turf toe. Conversely, you have a slug like LeCharles Bentley, who can sit on his fat ass and get paid millions in salary.
I am very glad you wrote a story like this. No one needs to live in pain. It is shameful and indefensible how the NFL continues to get away with ignoring its greatest asset: its players, its history, its legacy. I hope your story can stir some interest in helping these poor guys.
Jennifer Marks
Gates Mills
Canceled Checkup
Legal foot-dragging costly for Clinic’s patients: I am in the same boat with the Cleveland Clinic. My wife was injured by a doctor. He broke a face nerve after removing a tumor and gave us a letter stating what happened. I got a lawyer and spent $14,000 trying to get it into court, to no avail. They think they are so good that no one can touch them.
William Yaeger
Garrettsville
“Cleveland Is Getting Better,” January 23
Straight-Up Shot
Cleveland’s story gets positive buzz: Pete Kotz’s immigrant success story was a journalistic gem. It managed to glance backward at antique and recent violence, and glimpse optimistically the present and into the future. Plainly, Wally Pisorn has seen the Harbor Inn’s environs improve, along with the barroom clientele and local society in general. Gone are the gangsters who left dead bodies near the establishment; gone, too, the macho types who battered one another for trivial reasons or for no reason at all.
It could be Cleveland is indeed clawing its way upward from Rust Belt perdition. In any case, some positive vibrations concerning our metropolis are much appreciated.
William Dauenhauer
Willowick
Don’t Get Punked
Stand up for the ‘hood by standing up to hoods: I loathe how entire urban communities are allowing themselves to be blackmailed into submission by the very people who are bent on destroying them.
What next? Will places like Slavic Village and East Cleveland stop having anti-crime rallies and civic meetings against crime, simply because the thugs might take offense, storm the meetings, and kill everybody there? Will thugs start taking neighborhoods hostage, the way Nazis used to, in order to get other hoodlums out of jail? Will anti-crime, anti-gang, and anti-drug programs in schools be dismantled, simply because some thugs will get angry?
The fact that people working against the law think they can place themselves above the law means our social priorities are in need of a complete overhaul. Maybe if people told not to snitch would all do their civic duty — and stop buying into this rhetoric about crime as an urban industry and that every cop is the enemy — they would finally get the peace of mind they need. And if some hood doesn’t like it, try to think of the coward as he really is: a piece of beefsteak, just asking to get itself fried! Yummy yum yum!
Thomas Tobie
Cleveland
This article appears in Jan 30 – Feb 5, 2008.
Dear Editor,
I have attached a proposed article designed to educate readers about their rights to full and fair payment under the Fair Labor Standards Act.
Unfortunately, most people do not know the items mentioned in the article, so I thought it would be a good idea for an article,
I am am an employment attorney in Cleveland with a focus on Fair Labor Standards Act issues and cases.
Best regards,
Jeffrey M. Yelsky, Esq.
75 Public Square, Suite 800
Cleveland,
216-574-9560/FAX: 216-574-9562
It’s your dime . . .
8 common ways employers violate the Fair Labor Standard Act of 1938
by Jeff Yelsky
In 1938, the FLSA was hailed as a great piece of legislation, long overdue. For the first time, minimum wage and maximum hours per week guidelines were established, and the concept of overtime pay was implemented. Overtime rules were intended to incentivize employers to create more jobs in post depression America. Thereby, if they required their labor force to work beyond the maximum hour work week, employers were required to pay a premium. 70 years later, the law is still getting lots of attention and is likely the most violated employment law in the country. Accordingly, every employee in America should become aware of his rights and the most common employer violations,
Q: I am a secretary and get paid a salary. I work between 42 to 45 hours per week. I was told when I started that my hours would be 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. with a one hour lunch break. Because I am on salary, I don’t get overtime, right?
A: Wrong. Employers must pay overtime, unless the employee is exempt from overtime. A secretary is not an exempt employee. Exempt employees are those employed in a, “bona fide executive, administrative, or professional capacity.” If your salary is premised on a 40 hour work week, divide your salary by 40 to get your hourly rate. All hours worked, over 40, in a single work week are eligible for overtime pay.
Q: I’m a driver for a uniform company. I pick up and drop off uniforms. I’m paid a salary and work at least 45 hours a week because I have to do a lot of paperwork. My job title is account executive. Am I entitled to overtime?
A: Yes. The term “executive” means your primary duties are management; you supervise two or more workers, and you have authority to hire and fire. If you are not supervising other workers [at least 80 man hours per week], you are technically not an executive, and therefore, entitled to overtime. Employers frequently misclassify employees to shirk their responsibility to pay overtime.
Q: I’m a manager at a large national retail store, and am compensated on a salary basis. The store is divided into three zones, and each zone has a manager. The store has hired only four full-time employees to support the three managers. When products are delivered, it is the manager’s responsibility to ensure the unloading and stocking of the product. Since we only have four full-time employees between the three managers [I have the least seniority], I frequently have to do all of the labor to complete the delivery, unloading, and stocking of the product. Sometimes I have to stay as much as three to four hours after my scheduled shift to finish my job. Is this legal? Am I entitled to overtime?
A: No. This is not legal and yes, you are entitled to overtime. The term “manager” means your primary duties are management, and you supervise two or more full time employees, which may be comprised of multiple part-time positions. Stated another way, a manager is entitled to 80 man hours per week of support every week. Technically, your position does not meet the criteria for the exempt title of manager because each manager only has 53 hours of dedicated support personnel beneath them, not 80 hours. Therefore, you are entitled to overtime.
Q: I recently started working at a large construction company as a carpenter and get paid by the hour. I work between 45 to 50 hours per week during the busy season. Should I get overtime?
A: Yes. All hours worked over 40 must be paid at time and one half your regular rate of pay.
Q: I get two 15 minute breaks every day. I have to punch out for them and I don’t get paid. Is this legal?
A: No. All breaks under twenty minutes must be compensated. Employers frequently violate this provision of the FLSA, either deliberately or because they are not aware that the law requires that breaks under twenty minutes be paid.
Q: I am a loan officer for a mortgage company. I work crazy hours, like 55 to 60 hours per week. I am paid on a commission basis and do not get overtime. Is this legal?
A: No. You are owed ½ time for all hours worked over 40 in a single work week. Your hourly rate would be total commissions per week divided by the number of hours you worked in a week. For all hours worked over 40, you would be entitled to ½ time your calculated hourly rate.
Q: I work at a machine shop and am paid on an hourly basis. I am scheduled to work 40 hours per week, and could get disciplined if I work more than 40 in a week. I am required to spend about 15 minutes every day checking the equipment before I punch in to begin my shift. Then after my 8 hour shift I punch out, but have to spend another 15 minutes cleaning my machine and work area before I can leave. Should I be paid for this extra time?
A: Absolutely. You are being cheated out of 30 minutes of pay per day, or 2.5 hours of overtime pay per week, and multiply that by 50 weeks! The law allows you to go back two years [from the date you sue] to recover wages owed, or three years if the violation is intentional.
Q: I work as a plumber paid on an hourly basis. If I work 45 hours in one week, is my boss allowed to pay me straight time for all 45 hours if he then only schedules me for 35 hours the next week?
A: No. You are entitled to overtime pay for the 5 hours worked over 40. So your boss would owe you ½ time for the 5 hours.
These are just few of the countless ways the FLSA is routinely violated. If you believe you may be owed for unpaid overtime or minimum wages you should consult with an employment attorney to review the specifics of your situation.
If your case is strong, employers will often offer to settle without going to court. If the violations are consistently employed throughout the organization, meaning that multiple employees are affected by similar circumstances, a representative employee may file a collective action where all affected employees are then invited to opt-in and become part of the case. The law allows you to go back two years to recover wages owed, or three years if the violation is intentional. The awards are generally two times the unpaid wages. This can really add up; just do the math.
Lastly, it is of utmost importance to note that employees are protected from employer retaliation under the FLSA for presenting any claims for payment. The FLSA protects employees from retaliation by the employer. Under the law, it is a crime to retaliate against an employee for enforcing his rights, punishable by up to six months in jail, or a $10,000 fine, or both.
Jeff Yelsky is a Cleveland employment attorney.
jmy@yelskylaw.com