Shortchanged in pay

[PABliss13]

Hi all,

I have a predicament I'd like to run past you all. I feel I am being short-changed in my pay here and would like other's perspectives.

 

I have been at my new job for 6 months now. I initially signed a contract that provided a base salary and then $60/hr for any hours I worked on saturdays. However I was 'promoted' up to Production Bonus Pay on Oct 1st (though I wasn't alerted to this until mid-late November). This means that I still receive my base salary but no longer get the $60/hr on saturdays. Instead each quarter I would get a production bonus. I was told this was much better as I would make more $. Fine. Then come today (February by now) that I am made aware that none of the PAs are going to get any production bonus for the 4th quarter last yr (oct through dec) due to some financial issue that has yet to be explained to us. I worked 10 saturdays last quarter and feel I essentially worked them for free, as I don't get a production bonus and I am not making the $60/hr as I was initially hired to get. 

I took quite a pay cut to come work here (i moved from rural to where family is) and was led to believe the production bonus would bring my base salary up to where I expected it to be. 

I feel like they purposely 'promoted' me to production pay when they realized they were having a financial issue in november so they could get away with not paying me the $60/hr on saturdays starting oct 1st. 

 

The other PAs and I (4 of us) are set to meet with the manager next week to discuss this issue and what exactly is happening. Maybe I don't know all the details. However, i feel like I should ask to at least be compensated for the past saturdays that I worked at the rate of $60/hr as stated in my contract.  When I was 'promoted' to production pay, it was just an email they sent me informing me; I never signed a new contract agreeing to it.

 

Any thoughts?

[RuralER/Ortho]

Do you have a contract? How was your compensation spelled out? This is a pretty significant issue you have here. I would see how the meeting goes, but if I was you, I would be researching lawyers. I agree you worked those Saturdays for free.

 

Quick math.... But 10 Saturday's x 8 hours x $60 = 4800.... I imagine you want that $. And I believe you likely have a right to it, if spelled out in your contract.

[rev ronin]

Before the meeting, call your state's wage and hour folks.  Tell them what you told us: signed contract, no signed modification, withheld pay.  Then when you meet with the manager, let them know.  Most states take a very dim view of withheld wages.
 

I'm guessing you're younger and/or female.  No one tries to pull this nonsense on old dudes: they know we won't roll over and take it.  Make sure you don't either.

[EMEDPA]

I hate working on production and at 3 out of my 4 jobs I don't. unfortunately my primary job has a production component. but here's the rub. bonuses come out of group profits. group buys a new u/s machine or makes a donation to some cause felt to be worthy by the (physician) board of directors and the PAs don't get a bonus. I just assume they will be zero and if I get one I act accordingly. one year I got a 19k bonus one quarter. great. bought the wife a new car for cash. next quarter, same # of shifts, same # pts. my bonus was 240 dollars. we wenrt out to a show and dinner. plan for the bonuses to be zero so you don't suddently find yourself unable to pay your mortgage, etc and more often than not you will be surprised when you get something. that being said, I am working hard to leave that job in favor of staright pay/hr regardless of production. if I see 6/hr, great. If it's a slow day and I see 1/hr that's fine too. just pay me.

[electric130]

I am very skeptical of bonuses that are promised with a low base salary.  Was offered a position of this sort and ended up not taking it.  With that said I really cannot believe they would change you to "production" without telling you what that salary structure was based on.  Is it based on RVUs, how much in collections you bring in?  Then you need to know what percent of collections or RVUs you will be paid.  In the future never agree to a bonus structure unless you are given very clear numbers.  I too treat my bonus as just that an extra that is nice but not necessary but I have negotiated a very high base rate.  I get 5% of my collections on top of that. 

I would make it clear that you would like to be compensated for those Saturdays, regardless of the group's financial issues you are due that money.  I don't know that I would stay at that position either, very poor business practices imo.  An MD would never stand for that type of contract and treatment.

[Febrifuge]

Being paid by RVU's/ production is fine, if you're in an environment where a ton of studies and procedures are just going to be par for the course. Otherwise, production is a great deal for management and a lousy deal for clinicians. Someone I spoke with recently referred to it as "HamsterCare," since all it does is make you run around in the wheel, faster and faster, chasing stuff you can bill for.

 

The argument against RVU's, which I agree with at least to a point, is that it encourages providers to compete with one another when they should be collaborating, and it encourages the kind of medicine that costs the system more, rather than the kind that relies on better clinical judgment. It may not even be sustainable, across a whole health system or across a population of patients.

 

So any employer that moves you from hourly pay to some kind of production-based scheme is a) probably trying to rip you off in some way, and b) possibly providing a poorer level or quality of care. So in your position, not only would I raise holy hell about the issue, I would quietly start looking for a new job.