Do maintenance techs get paid OT for on-call service calls or do they take a day off during the week to prevent OT payout?

Hi Multifam-fam! I have a question about maintenance OT. Do techs get paid OT for on-call service calls or do they take a day off during the week to prevent OT payout?

Paid ot.

They should get OT. They are taking time out of their lives to take after hours calls. They deserve it!

I agree 100%! Gladly I work for a co. that does pay

Long time on going issue. Check with your state labor laws. Some companies let them decide. In some states, it's illegal to not pay them.

Unless THEY request the comp time, I pay the OT.

We pay as ON CALL at time and a half no matter the worked hours during the day.

Paid. Making a tech take a day off for working on a weekend is like standing them in the back. No one wants to sit and wait for a phone to ring on a weekend and get nothing for it. They give up their weekend and all they get is a weekday off. It's not right. I wouldn't work for a company that does this.

Paid. If they want to cut the time it’s an option but definitely not mandatory to cut.

It’s a 40 hour work week, anything over that is time and a half.

I guess it's "optional" in GA

NEVER MAKE SOMEONE TAKE OFF, that’s the crappiest thing a company could ever do.

They get paid the OT - only crippling your site giving them extra days off and it’s disrespectful of the techs time

We pay OT

Paid OT a minimum of two hours even if they are not there two hours, plus OT for any additional hours over the two hour minimum.

We pay them ot

OT. From the time they leave their door pre-call to the time they leave the property post call.
They’re also paid an extra 2.5 hours on Sunday OT to come and run the trash compactors, whoever is on call.
I can’t imagine asking a tech to take a day off - how far back that would put them work wise is crazy.

Ot, if you make me come out at 3 am than want me to take off early to avoid paying me ot, I’m gonna drop my keys off on your desk on my way out the door.

Depends on your company, ideally for budget reasons have them take it back if possible. OT is an expensive thing!

Paid! I have worked for a couple of companies that refused to pay overtime and made the techs take comp time. The turnover was horrendous

Employers whose employees are exempt from the FLSA may offer their workers the option to take comp time instead of receiving monetary compensation for their overtime hours. ... It is against the law to evade overtime payments for nonexempt employees, even if the worker agrees to take time off in lieu of payment.

On call tech leaves 4 hours early on Friday to allow for any calls received. If they work over the 4 hours we pay the OT if they don’t come in at all we still pay the 4 hours.

If on call they get paid for OT and Thursday half day Friday off.

After 12 years in maintenance, I'm good with both. Sometime get time off really helps, if it's not going to hurt your production. I don't want a day off if I have to play catch up the following day.

Maintenance always gets shit on. They work hard and take call have to come out in the middle of the night and weekends when manager are home in there warm beds sleeping like babys and then ask a dumb question like that maybe a manager should take call then see if they ask the same question.

I used to work for apartments for 18 years. Im a hvac, plumbing, electrical contractor now. There are companies that will pay techs overtime for their work. There are companies that will make you go home early or the whole day off depending on how much overtime. I think it's very crappy to do a tech like that by sending them home. They take time away from there families to do after hour calls. They should be paid for that. They are the ones busting their butt day in and day out to upkeep the property so that people will want to move-in. If the property is not done right, people would not live there. I put up with it for a while, but that's why I ventured out on my own. That's why the companies that do that to the techs dont have those techs for very long. You also have the companies that dont say anything, and then when the time comes to turn in overtime, they want to send you home early. That's really crappy in my book.

Our on call techs get OT but they also work normal hours on Saturday and take a day off in the week. This helps reduce OT.

We don’t do OT by policy so any OT or emergency off-duty work is later discounted with time off in the same week.

Thank you everyone for the feedback! I was actually approached by an external employee (not working my organization) about this and I feel awful. Wanted to know if that’s some type of norm bc I feel we should pay OT or give the choice between that and time off.

Ditto Myra ???? Troy u have the wrong manager obviously ???? my husband may he rip was my maintenance super for 9 years and I made him always be on call since we lived on site he never complained but he only went for true emergencies plus my 400 unit community was organized from office to my housekeeper we had a good team and took care of our residents all day to where rarely did we have to go out after hours preventative maintenance really makes a difference

Taking time off during the day to not pay them OT for a 3:00am call is HORRIBLE management, leadership, policy and a crime against humanity! At Monarch Investment our managers are highly encouraged to pay OT for any after hours calls and questioned when they don't. Take care of your people folks!

Depends on the state. Most say anything over 40 hours in a work week is to be paid OT. California, there may be others, say anything over 8 hours in a work day must be paid OT. You really need to consult with your HR department. It could be costly if you don't do it correctly. I am speaking from experience only. I am not an attorney.

Because of the pandemic and cutting back on cost’s, and budgeting, they are letting them have a day off during the week. No one is getting OT over here

That's tough, but it is the world we live in. I think we will see more of this; however, make sure that you are talking to your team about why you are doing this so they know it is so everyone can stay employed, the supplies can be purchased and the property can be run, NOT to take money out of their pocket, but to keep operations going until the situation is clear.