COLUMBUS (TDB) -- Is there workplace static coming into the picture? A federal judge in Ohio this week conditionally certified a class-action against Digital Dish, a privately owned regional service provider for satellite TV company DISH Network of Englewood, Colo. Technicians who installed, maintained and repaired digital satellite equipment -- primarily dishes and receivers -- contend they worked more than 40 hours a week but did not receive overtime pay. The workers say they were told that "as a matter of company policy" they would be terminated if they recorded working more than 40 hours in a week.
At this point, the lawsuit appears to cover the technicians who worked in Ohio, and portions of Kentucky, Indiana and West Virginia. Court records indicate Digital Dish has about 300 satellite TV installers on its payroll in the region at any given time. The records also indicate they worked long days:
"Technicians typically receive their next day's work orders in the evening and pre-call customers to schedule service appointments in advance. The Digital Dish warehouses open at approximately 7:30 a.m. each day. When a technician arrives at one of Digital Dish's warehouses in the morning [apparently around 6:30 a.m.] he pick up the DISH Network equipment necessary to complete his day's assigned work orders. Prior to leaving the Digital Dish warehouses, technicians generally attach the mounting structure, arms, and certain low-noise block feedhorns to satellite dishes to make more space in their trucks. Further, technicians often spend fifteen to twenty minutes downloading the necessary programs to the receivers set for delivery, so they can save time once they arrive at a costumer's home.
"With the equipment in hand, each technician then sets out to complete his day's schedule. In general, a technician's primary task is the delivery and installation of DISH Network equipment, but technicians also do repairs, upgrades, and returns. Each technician completes approximately two to three installations per day. After the technician completes a service call, he secures the customer's approval on a DISH Network Customers Service Agreement and (in the case of satellite receiver equipment installations) activates the customer's satellite subscription by contacting DISH Network."
U.S. District Judge Algenon L. Marbley said the case can go forward as a class-action for the time being. He said some of the company's legal moves to stop the class-action side-stepped the workers' contention Digital Dish "was officially putting one policy on paper, but unofficially threatening and enforcing a separate practice."
The case is Dominic Mussarra, et al v. Digital Dish Inc; No. 2:05-cv-545 Southern District of Ohio. Judge Marbley said the satellite technicians "clearly define the proposed class and their declarations in support claim first-hand knowledge of illegal practices being imposed on technicians from multiple facilities. Applying a lenient standard to the pleadings and affidavits submitted in this case, the Court finds conditional certification appropriate."
Well, aren't we all working hard for no money? :D
ReplyDeleteDo you get to work at 6:30-7:00 a.m, get paid less than $8.00/hr., get no breaks, no lunch, and get off sometimes at 10:30 p.m.-1:00 a.m.? Probably not.
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Its a real shame how some large companies take advantage of there employees.These companies do not realize that with out them they would not be in business.In todays changing world a small company is the way to go.There the left hand knows what the right hand is doing.The short cut to finding out who these small companies are is just looking in your local area.The company that is looking for installers right now is in the mansfield area,I heard that is a great company to work for but there turn over is next to nothing.Every one who lands a job there never quits.I think the name is Primeview Satellite.Thats just one out of more than 7 in that area.
ReplyDeleteI also agree that : Its a real shame how some large companies take advantage of there employees. But I think It would really matter what is our performance in doing such task or job.
ReplyDeleteThis company is horrible as I work for them as a technician. If you ever work for them be prepared for long long hours from your family and no holidays. They are a bunch of worthless money hungry pricks
ReplyDeleteThis will be in several installments because the size limitation on the postings but if you read them all you will gain some real insight on this case.
ReplyDeleteUpfront- I will remain anonymous. However, I will say I worked for them and I was in the know and have an intimate knowledge of management structure and internal working practices. AKA - illegal practices. These guys won this lawsuit. Not only did they win their lawsuit but this was not this company's first brush with the law. There are multiple actions prior to and after. Knowing what I know and who I know I can tell you with assurance that the second comment on this board was by a member of their leading management team. I personally witnessed and experienced these events in this lawsuit and they are true. (That's why Digital Dish lost this suit) They tried to transform their pay system after this many times to keep ripping off their techs in different ways and each time they were met with legal resistance. They tried to pay their techs by the job and insist that they kept accurate track of their hours but if the tech ran over 40 hours that he reported then he came under tremendous scrutiny and then became accused of stealing from the company by reporting more hours then they thought they should have. They were then made examples of and the techs were in fear of reporting anything over 40 even though they were not being paid by the hour to begin with.
Then after they screwed everyone they could before the law caught up to them they eventually started paying by the hour. However, the new scheme was to only pay them minimum wage and offer incentive wages based on job performance. In reality, what they did was set the techs up to fail with all sorts of loopholes and stipulations so that the vast majority could never earn anything past minimum wage. The job basically evolved into minimum wage with open ended overtime. To look at the techs pay stubs now will show that hardly anyone is at 40 or less and the majority work from 50 to 60 hours each week.
ReplyDeleteThe company has always expected the techs to pay for everything except for their drills satellite meters but after they had to fork out a little more money in pay then they wanted to they started to screw them on that too. The techs then had to buy their own drills and give a substantial deposit on the meters. The company also demanded that they have a lengthy list of tools with them and punish them when they could not afford to buy them or afford to have them payroll deducted. I watched these people demand unreasonable service on a day to day basis and many times endanger the safety or well being of their techs. All the while everything else was going on, the techs were brow beat by their managers under the orders of the company's general manager (Jack). If the managers sympathized with their own technicians then Jack would brow beat and intimidate the local manager to either follow these practices or be replaced.
It was not uncommon for Jack to literally scream and yell at his subordinates and belittle them. This company is run much like Hitler's Germany with a great deal of fear. In fact, that is why Dominic Mussarra filed the lawsuit to begin with. It was not so much because of how the techs were getting screwed. Dominic and another tech had a complaint, so they took him and another tech into a room, isolated them, and the owner of the company (Jerry Anderson) and the company lawyer at the time (Dick... now deceased) began to literally scream and yell at then. They were insulted and belittled and set free. This is why. This became a personal vendetta to make Digital Dish pay for the wrongs they were doing. There is QUITE a bit more that these people did and still do but I think you get the point.
ReplyDeleteAside from all of these things the company manipulates the techs to intentionally deceive Dish Network's new customers into accepting installations that they think last for some time. However, the tech knows many times that the install will not last more than just long enough to get out of a 90 day warranty before they loose line-of-sight and signal is lost. This was factored in to the tech's pay and was reflected on the company as "completion percentage". Digital Dish wanted to look like they were the best (on paper) to Dish Network so they could achieve maximum bonus incentive pay so what they did was brow beat the techs to install even if they knew it would not last long. If they could get it to last just long enough to get through the warranty period, then when the customer called because they had problems, Digital Dish would get paid to go out again and try to fix what they screwed up to start with.
To insure they ran an operation that Dish Network wouldn't get wise to, they insisted that the customer call them instead of Dish Network. If it was inside warranty they would slip out undetected and fix it if it was their own screw up so Dish Network wouldn't know about it. If it was a part failure they would then call Dish themselves and let them know there was a problem so they could get a work order built and charge Dish Network for it. Sometimes they even encouraged their techs to call Dish to activate the receivers on a customer’s account so it looked like it was installed and then get the customer to cancel so they wouldn't be charged. After this, Digital Dish would then call Dish Network and ask for a new work order to take out the system that was never installed to begin with. They could rip off Dish Network from both directions this way. This is just to name a few things. Fire the abusive dictator and his cronies, then pay the techs a decent wage and most of this would never happen.
ReplyDeleteFor those of you who have issues with Dish Network and trash them - you should understand that they have a superior product and good service. There are many reasons why things don't work out the way you think they should when you call them and the problem is usually NEVER the product. So if you live in Ohio, you might want to think about these things and consider who might really be at fault for your technician's behavior or what he done or didn't do while he was there. Dish only knows what their contractors make them believe. When a customer disputes it, they send someone to see what is going on and guess what - It's a person from the same company because DNS does not have any offices in Ohio. I am told they now have their own QC guys in Ohio now to look at Digital Dish's work but unfortunately 2 or three guys can not oversee thousands of jobs done every week.
Check out this link - it is from 2006 about Digital Dish. Look at the second post by a former employee named Brian http://www.ripoffreport.com/satellite-dish-companies/dish-network/dish-network-digital-dish-dec-f489j.htm
ReplyDeleteI am a contractor for digital dish. I was an employee for them for 4 years befor i came back as contractor. I quit after the pay changes. Being a contractor with them is good. The pay could be a bit more but i generally make 1,000 - 1,200 a week. I only pay for my own gas and work about 40 hours a week. I know the people that were mentioned. They are definitely all business. This is a tough industry and nobody likes to be talked down to. I cant speak about that it never happened to me while i was an employee. There are good techs and bad techs. The good ones like their jobs and make good money and the others dont last. Its a high turn over industry. Imhappy with my job and was when i was an employee. Im thankful for having a good job and try to always do good work and am honest with my customers. Dont know if i would be an employee for them now. I know they are strict but thats just me. Good management in the area i work in.
ReplyDeleteI have worked for digital dish. That is the worse company i have ever worked for and ive worked for my share. Jack is the worst manager i have ever seen. The pay scale waschanged several times while i was there in 2010. - 2012. Every time the pay would go done more and get harder to meet bonuses.
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