# New pay scale- all minimum wage



## newhere

Ok this is my idea i would like to implement the coming year. 

All workers get paid minimum wage but every week they get a bonus that would equal out to make a fair pay check for them. So lets use Joe for example, Joe makes $14 per hour at his current position. For a 40 hour week he takes home $560.00 (before taxes). Under my plan he will be paid $8.50 an hour (i dont even know what minimum wage is) so he will get $340.00 and then if he has a good week he will receive a bonus of $220.00 per week. In the end he takes the same amount home.

Now the catch is if Joe breaks my equipment or does something stupid that in turns costs me money he will not receive a bonus until his accident has been paid for. As you all know we cant just not pay workers and we cant make them pay for damages but we dont have to give them a bonus every week. That is totally up to your discretion. 

This bonus would not be taken away for something like getting a flat tire, or a plow valve not working or even some one else hitting him when it was not his fault. Those are not his fault and he has very little if any control over the situation.
This is to defray the cost when Joe backs into the light pole or he hits a curb or he hits a snow pile to hard and breaks the windsheild.This is for when he knowingly parks the truck on the wrong side of the road to run in real fast and grab a pop then Mr. officer gives him a $65.00 dollar ticket and he hands it to me. Ok Joe if you want to play that game because the ticket is in my name then i will just take it out of your pay. If you have a problem with that then QUIT!!! becasue then i dont have to pay your unemployment when YOU QUIT. 

Before the season i would sit down and make a MASSIVE list of thousands of different things that were covered and ones that were not covered. It would be clean cut and dry. 

Obviously i will be talking to state officials and a lawyer on this, but i dont see a problem.

I allready talked to my "better" workers about it and they didnt really care one bit about it................because they all have never broke anything in years. I suspect the only ones that will object to it will be the constant breakers. 






What do you guys think? sound like a idea to make people responsible for their actions?


----------



## grandview

See you in court.


----------



## newhere

i dont think so, a bonus is just a gift above and beyond what you expect to make. 

But like i said i will look into it in depth.


----------



## procut

I remember a reading about a guy on lawnsite who did something similar. As I recall, at the start of the season, each worker got like $1000 put into their "fund" each time they damaged something, the cost would come out of their respective "fund." Whatever was left over out of the $1000 at the end of the season they got to keep.


----------



## newhere

Hey that idea would work to.

I read about a HUGE excavating company that gives weekly bonuses but theirs was based on employee production, deadlines being met and damages to equipment. Each worker was punished or rewarded the same so if Joe broke the wind shield everyone paid for it. They said it turned them from workers into managers over night, production went up and the whole attitude changed. I will try to find the article.....


----------



## newhere

I just dont want to get into employee production, that means quality will slide and i dont want my guys cutting corners. All i want is for workers to have a sense of responsibility for their actions.


----------



## Rc2505

The only way that would work is if you put every employee in brand new equipment. If something gets broke or damaged, and they are the only person that equipment is assigned to, then you know who to blame. If they are driving something today, that someone else drove yesterday, then you are going to have huge arguments, and fights on your hands. It will just plain get ugly. Maybe the Procut suggested would be the smarter way to go.


----------



## jklawn&Plow

The concept is perfect but putting it in action and having it work correctly seems undoable for the above mentioned reasons," Not me" ," I duno", "the warriors did it" the list goes on and on and then they will try to take you to small claims for the stash o cash.


----------



## Holland

You cant expect your employees to take responsibility for your equiptment on their own dime. If you implement this i see you having to look for a new crew. I know i wouldnt work for anyone that operated that way. Its your business and your risk. You might as well just fire anyone that breaks anything because as soon as you cut his paycheck hes gonna quit. Keep working on a game plan. I think you can do better.


----------



## JohnnyRoyale

I like the concept and what your're trying to accomplish...just uncertain if its the right way to go about it.


----------



## newhere

Maybe you guys are thinking that anytime something breaks they have to pay. Not so. If a whip dies for not explained reason, so be it. If a whip gets run over because joe forgot to put it in the trailer then he has to pay. They pay for sheer stupid not typical wear and tear. Rip a cloth bag for the mower because you were paking leaves in super tight.....no big deal. Yes you shouldn't be doing that but you were working and using your head. Tear the mower bag because you were doing wheelies on the mower you pay. Get the idea?


----------



## JohnnyRoyale

just so I get this right...you are suggesting that particular employee will have both a maximum and a minimum wage and they will only get their maximum wage iff they dont have any stupid at fault breakdowns or mishaps...

I'm assuming all minimums would be equal but the maximums would be dependant on skill level, position, responsibility etc... if you tied in a performance bonus structure it could be a good formula for rewarding accountable, safe, productive and happy employees.

IMO for this to work...you should reward them for excellence.


----------



## JD Dave

I'm not sure how many guys you have but it sounds like a lot of work and it leaves the potential for many disgruntled employees. Sometimes things break and your kind of going to be playing god with the money.


----------



## cretebaby

JohnnyRoyale;1265038 said:


> IMO for this to work...you should reward them for excellence.


Ditto.

With the bonus it needs to equal more than 14 an hour otherwise it really isn't a bonus. Joe can just go somewhere else and make his $14 an hour.


----------



## R.G.PEEL

A reward over and above their wage, as mentioned above will keep everyone in line and force them to police themselves. I think its funny if someone else goofs off, but if they goof off and it has effect on my bonus I'm going to say something. 

The proposed 'work for minimum wage and if nothing is broken you get a fair wage' scheme is garbage. Anybody that takes that deal isn't intelligent enough to negotiate their own wages properly so they aren't intelligent enough to work for me. 

This summer I had a $25/hr employee have a brainfart. He set down my stihl quick cut after cutting rebar, Got in a bobcat to pick up the rebar, and backed over the saw. It was stupid and 100% his fault. However, I went to work that day with the opportunity to make $4000 if everything went well, It didn't, I bought a new $1000 saw and made $3000. Dave had the opportunity to make $200. In his position I would not work a job with thousands of dollars equipment, me being liable for it, for $200/day it makes no sense. He has a good attitude and offered to pay, but its simply not his responsibility. Clear as that. If he continued to cost me money I'd simply fire him. Consider accounting for mistakes in your pricing, Repeat offenders get fired, not changed into good workers.


----------



## PlatinumService

R.G.PEEL;1265075 said:


> A reward over and above their wage, as mentioned above will keep everyone in line and force them to police themselves. I think its funny if someone else goofs off, but if they goof off and it has effect on my bonus I'm going to say something.
> 
> The proposed 'work for minimum wage and if nothing is broken you get a fair wage' scheme is garbage. Anybody that takes that deal isn't intelligent enough to negotiate their own wages properly so they aren't intelligent enough to work for me.
> 
> This summer I had a $25/hr employee have a brainfart. He set down my stihl quick cut after cutting rebar, Got in a bobcat to pick up the rebar, and backed over the saw. It was stupid and 100% his fault. However, I went to work that day with the opportunity to make $4000 if everything went well, It didn't, I bought a new $1000 saw and made $3000. Dave had the opportunity to make $200. In his position I would not work a job with thousands of dollars equipment, me being liable for it, for $200/day it makes no sense. He has a good attitude and offered to pay, but its simply not his responsibility. Clear as that. If he continued to cost me money I'd simply fire him. Consider accounting for mistakes in your pricing, Repeat offenders get fired, not changed into good workers.


i 100% agree. ***** happens we have all goofed at one point or another. but not repeatedly. One employee could goof his one and only time and be really penalized when he/ she has bills to pay but shine in another situation and make you a ton of money and just get his/ her normal wage? these are the costs of doing business.


----------



## KEC Maintaince

what you could do is this tell your employees if they get any extra work you will give them a piece of the contract at a given percentage. they will be more inclined not to be so harsh on the equipment as they will need it to do the account that they got also.


----------



## grandview

I think he's trying to make them waitresses and they have to work for their tips each week.


----------



## PlatinumService

grandview;1265189 said:


> I think he's trying to make them waitresses and they have to work for their tips each week.


at a bar in calgary the bar buys the waitress fake jugs after 3 months of work as an incentive for clients and the girls. do you think a similar offer stands in this situation?


----------



## newhere

Another thing I thought about doing was paying everyone as normal, maybe a dollar less then average but setting aside a 1,000 dollar bonus twice a year. Once at the end of the green season once at the end of plow season. If you make it through the season without any stupid mistakes you get your bonus if you back into a light pole you don't get it. I'm really looking for a incentive and a way to recoup some of the money when a worker messes up and he is fired. 

If someone ran over a 1,000 dollar saw of mine your done working for me. I have higher expectations and that kind of sheer neglect is not acceptable whatsoever. You do that and your fired and you don't get your bonus. Seems fair to me.


----------



## R.G.PEEL

newhere;1265241 said:


> Another thing I thought about doing was paying everyone as normal, maybe a dollar less then average but setting aside a 1,000 dollar bonus twice a year. Once at the end of the green season once at the end of plow season. If you make it through the season without any stupid mistakes you get your bonus if you back into a light pole you don't get it. I'm really looking for a incentive and a way to recoup some of the money when a worker messes up and he is fired.
> 
> If someone ran over a 1,000 dollar saw of mine your done working for me. I have higher expectations and that kind of sheer neglect is not acceptable whatsoever. You do that and your fired and you don't get your bonus. Seems fair to me.


The incentive idea works awesome I know a guy who takes the whole crew out a couple times a year on specific dates. He bases it on how the season is going. If the jobs have gone really smoothly and the workers haven't f'd up, I don't work for him, but he includes me in his crew as I am present on all of his jobsites for the first 2 days. It is a hell of a positive incentive for everyone involved. Like him though, you have to lay out the possibility of an incentive ahead of time so they know that its up to them. Basic psychology,"Eat all your food and don't pull your sister's hair you get ice cream." The original proposal was kind of like "if you pull your sister's hair, you get half a piece of stale bread and a half a glass of water for dinner"

The guy that backed over my saw had worked for me for several years and made me a lot of money, very hard worker. I bought him a brand new one, and then had everybody I know call him to ask him if he was nearby because they needed to borrow my quick cut. I got 1000 worth of laughter out of it. and new Stihls are awesome!


----------



## grandview

newhere;1265241 said:


> I'm really looking for a incentive and a way to recoup some of the money when a worker messes up and he is fired.
> 
> .


This part I think is illegal. If your working in a gas station and someone bolts without paying you can't make the employee pay for it or if they gave out to much change,or a waitress who drops a stack of dishes and breaks them,


----------



## JD Dave

newhere;1265241 said:


> Another thing I thought about doing was paying everyone as normal, maybe a dollar less then average but setting aside a 1,000 dollar bonus twice a year. Once at the end of the green season once at the end of plow season. If you make it through the season without any stupid mistakes you get your bonus if you back into a light pole you don't get it. I'm really looking for a incentive and a way to recoup some of the money when a worker messes up and he is fired.
> 
> If someone ran over a 1,000 dollar saw of mine your done working for me. I have higher expectations and that kind of sheer neglect is not acceptable whatsoever. You do that and your fired and you don't get your bonus. Seems fair to me.


Were all human. I hate stuff getting wrecked but even I make mistakes. If my lead guy backs over a saw one day but has been great for a few years I'd look pretty stupid firing him. The more anal you are with thx guys the more on edge they'll be and the more crap will happen. JMO


----------



## grandview

JD Dave;1265335 said:


> Were all human. I hate stuff getting wrecked but even I make mistakes. JMO


Didn't someone drive a truck into a culvert?


----------



## newhere

grandview;1265324 said:


> This part I think is illegal. If your working in a gas station and someone bolts without paying you can't make the employee pay for it or if they gave out to much change,or a waitress who drops a stack of dishes and breaks them,


This is totally different.


----------



## wizardsr

A lot of good points in this thread. We use an incentive bonus at the end of the season. They get a fair wage to begin with, and are rewarded with a bonus if they don't have any "preventable accidents". The bonus is a fixed amount per hour worked throughout the winter season, and is all spelled out in the employment contract at the beginning of the season. All legal according to my attorney. But again, it's a bonus, and they're getting a fair wage to begin with, not minimum wage. One of my guys backed into a frozen pile last year and bent the guard on the snowex, no big deal, the whole bonus was paid at the end of the year. This year a guy backed into a parked car, a pole (completely separate incident), showed up over 20 minutes late several times, and I had to give him a wake-up call on one occasion as well as he slept right through his alarm. He won't be getting his bonus this year. There's always equipment that breaks, accidents that happen, etc. it's part of the business, and we don't get into taking away bonuses unless it's something preventable such as backing into a parked vehicle.


----------



## grandview

newhere;1265358 said:


> This is totally different.


How? You said in your other post if someone messes up.


----------



## newhere

wizardsr;1265362 said:


> A lot of good points in this thread. We use an incentive bonus at the end of the season. They get a fair wage to begin with, and are rewarded with a bonus if they don't have any "preventable accidents". The bonus is a fixed amount per hour worked throughout the winter season, and is all spelled out in the employment contract at the beginning of the season. All legal according to my attorney. But again, it's a bonus, and they're getting a fair wage to begin with, not minimum wage. One of my guys backed into a frozen pile last year and bent the guard on the snowex, no big deal, the whole bonus was paid at the end of the year. This year a guy backed into a parked car, a pole (completely separate incident), showed up over 20 minutes late several times, and I had to give him a wake-up call on one occasion as well as he slept right through his alarm. He won't be getting his bonus this year. There's always equipment that breaks, accidents that happen, etc. it's part of the business, and we don't get into taking away bonuses unless it's something preventable such as backing into a parked vehicle.


This is what I've been trying to say. Spot on, great plan. Maybe I was thinking to harsh with minimum wage but I'm not going to pay them super high wages because I have to keep that bonus in mind and I want it to be something big enough that they won't just think ahhh ohh well its only 300 bucks.


----------



## wizardsr

newhere;1265380 said:


> This is what I've been trying to say. Spot on, great plan. Maybe I was thinking to harsh with minimum wage but I'm not going to pay them super high wages because I have to keep that bonus in mind and I want it to be something big enough that they won't just think ahhh ohh well its only 300 bucks.


On the flip side, it's tough to put a price on a good employee that saves you from expensive repairs and downtime because they're keeping an eye on that bonus.


----------



## R.G.PEEL

Hard work bonuses also help to keep a strange phenomenon I've noticed with several workers from happening. 

First guy I noticed was named Brian. Brian started with me a few summers ago, He heard through the grapevine that I was looking for an extra guy for a project I was working on that needed more hands than I had. He phoned me and asked if I'd hire him and as it was very simple work (carrying aluminum posts) I figured any idiot could do it. We talked price, he wanted $12/hr which is what he was making at his last job. I told him I'd start him at 14 and go from there. In my line of work 18-20 is fair wage for labourers, so this was already a huge savings for me and $2 more than he asked just over the phone. 

He showed up full of piss and vinegar. For the 2 week project he worked harder than any of the other 10 guys on the crew, some of who were being paid 25-30. Even the guys I was working for pulled me aside and said they had never seen a worker like that and that I needed to keep him. I did. After that project we didn't need as much labour but he was right away the number one guy aside from operators. I told him I'd keep him on whenever I had work for him and at $16/hr. The guy was infectious. He showed up with a hand in a cast, and pushed wheel barrels faster than the other guys onsite, while chirping them to pick up the pace. Not wanting to be shown up by a one armed man, they did. I raised him to $18/hr. He stayed on from may into Dec. with $4/hr worth of raises above what he started at, $6 (50%!) more than he'd asked. 

At this point the problem kicked in. Now he felt he was highly valued. In winter, I only put equipment out, no hand crews. He doesn't operate so I took on a handwork contract (he asked to do it). It only paid 15/hr to me, and I told him I'd give him the full amount. This is still 25% more than he felt he was worth 5 months earlier. First shift he quit on me. He had the decency to finish the shift but that left me hanging for the rest of the season. I'm a man of my word so I made sure I had other guys on site each night but some nights I was on kijiji the night of the storm searching the classifieds for 'willing to work' ads. 

When someone makes me a lot of money I feel they deserve a lot of money too. Raises tend to make people feel entitled to a lot. A bonus for the difference between what he asked and what he paid would have given him the same amount of money but still kept him happy to work at $12/hr.


----------



## PlatinumService

R.G.PEEL;1265410 said:


> Hard work bonuses also help to keep a strange phenomenon I've noticed with several workers from happening.
> 
> First guy I noticed was named Brian. Brian started with me a few summers ago, He heard through the grapevine that I was looking for an extra guy for a project I was working on that needed more hands than I had. He phoned me and asked if I'd hire him and as it was very simple work (carrying aluminum posts) I figured any idiot could do it. We talked price, he wanted $12/hr which is what he was making at his last job. I told him I'd start him at 14 and go from there. In my line of work 18-20 is fair wage for labourers, so this was already a huge savings for me and $2 more than he asked just over the phone.
> 
> He showed up full of piss and vinegar. For the 2 week project he worked harder than any of the other 10 guys on the crew, some of who were being paid 25-30. Even the guys I was working for pulled me aside and said they had never seen a worker like that and that I needed to keep him. I did. After that project we didn't need as much labour but he was right away the number one guy aside from operators. I told him I'd keep him on whenever I had work for him and at $16/hr. The guy was infectious. He showed up with a hand in a cast, and pushed wheel barrels faster than the other guys onsite, while chirping them to pick up the pace. Not wanting to be shown up by a one armed man, they did. I raised him to $18/hr. He stayed on from may into Dec. with $4/hr worth of raises above what he started at, $6 (50%!) more than he'd asked.
> 
> At this point the problem kicked in. Now he felt he was highly valued. In winter, I only put equipment out, no hand crews. He doesn't operate so I took on a handwork contract (he asked to do it). It only paid 15/hr to me, and I told him I'd give him the full amount. This is still 25% more than he felt he was worth 5 months earlier. First shift he quit on me. He had the decency to finish the shift but that left me hanging for the rest of the season. I'm a man of my word so I made sure I had other guys on site each night but some nights I was on kijiji the night of the storm searching the classifieds for 'willing to work' ads.
> 
> When someone makes me a lot of money I feel they deserve a lot of money too. Raises tend to make people feel entitled to a lot. A bonus for the difference between what he asked and what he paid would have given him the same amount of money but still kept him happy to work at $12/hr.


i love hearing these scenarios... that really made me think about future things with my business. thanks for sharing


----------



## swtiih

newhere

not sure how many employees you have. I realize that any one employee can make a mistake or mistakes at any given point. Usually it a select few that are constantly have issues. Those are the ones you should address and let go if necessary


----------



## kashman

i cant get any 1 out of bed for less then 20. insurance is for accidents


----------



## snobgone

For the snow season all of our employees get $1-$3 per hour dependabiltiy bonus for each hour they work that accumulates for the winter season. If they miss a storm or damage something due to neglect or abuse, it comes out of that bonus. Same with the summer, except it is a bonus pool. We do not want to take anyones bonus away but we do not want to fire anyone either. We have a few guys that are great employees but tend to careless and bang things up more than their co-workers. So what's the answer? Charge them or fire them? Again, we are talking abuse or neglect, not everyday wear, tear and expected costs. Charging someone sux but it gets their attention.


----------



## Kwise

Mistakes happen. Even good workers make them. I don't think anything special should be done with their pay. It's up to you to know who is an all around good worker. Get rid of the ones who aren't.


----------



## Kwise

kashman;1265468 said:


> i cant get any 1 out of bed for less then 20. insurance is for accidents


That's not good, considering there are so many people out of a job.


----------



## buckwheat_la

PlatinumService;1265201 said:


> at a bar in calgary the bar buys the waitress fake jugs after 3 months of work as an incentive for clients and the girls. do you think a similar offer stands in this situation?


I used to know the guys that owned that bar.....a interesting bunch of guys


----------



## Mackman

Whats the problem with just paying a good hourly wage. Good wages will most of the time bring in good people. Then you can weed the not so good people out. Then before you know it, you will have a good crew.


----------



## salopez

cant do it...if only for tax liability...bonus are taxed at 42% the highest amount...so your guys would be getting paid less then they are...which would not be legal.

good idea though.


----------



## Holland

Mackman;1266334 said:


> Whats the problem with just paying a good hourly wage. Good wages will most of the time bring in good people. Then you can weed the not so good people out. Then before you know it, you will have a good crew.


Sounds great!


----------



## basher

Employee incentives are the key to any business. If the employee doesn't feel he is rewarded if he works harder then others he will soon slow to the average.

I have used an incentive plan for years. My employees receive an hourly wage plus get a percentage of all the work they complete. They are responsible for all comebacks. Most work has a predetermined fix price so they can only earn so much incentive money. This assures they work at at least a minimum rate of speed. If it takes longer then the predetermined rate they receive no extra money and work the extra time at the low standard rate. 

They police themselves and the poor/lazy/slow employee doesn't last long because the base wage rate is low. They get paid off their completed work orders so the paperwork gets done because if not they don't get their money. They receive their incentive pay weekly so they see real time how their labors are paying off.

A side benefit is they look for work that needs done. If a plow comes in for a new wear edge and they see it needs whips and a hose changed I know about it. They want to do the extra work because they will receive a share. 

The major factor is making THEM RESPONSIBLE FOR ALL COMEBACKS this assures they don't short cut for the sake of speed.

Next winter we will have a heat fuel budget. I am giving them $XX based on the past 5 years fuel usage. If they use less then budgeted they split the extra. I'm hoping this will make heat a more budget-able number and will make them all aware of the cost as it is in a sense "their" money.


----------



## newhere

Wow I like that heat budget. I bet the days of working on the plows in t-shirts are long over.


----------



## Sal_Moides

I prefer the idea of "pool" type performance incentives. This is better in my mind because it makes your guys police each other's performance. If one guy pees in the pool the others will point it out so it doesn't affect them. Your crew will cull the weak.


----------



## grandview

basher;1266802 said:


> Next winter we will have a heat fuel budget. I am giving them $XX based on the past 5 years fuel usage. If they use less then budgeted they split the extra. I'm hoping this will make heat a more budget-able number and will make them all aware of the cost as it is in a sense "their" money.


----------



## basher

grandview;1266939 said:


>


Tried that. Used too much; floor space, stress over fire issues, warehousing fuel, valuable lot space for fuel storage, inconsistent heat disturbution. i love it for my house but not effecant in the shop. I'm think more along these lines and giving them a lighting budget as well


----------



## grandview

I was leaning more along the lines of calling you Mr Scrooge!


----------



## Precedence

One of my wife's family members worked for a place that split the remaining repair budget for the year between it's employees. He said it worked really well since the employee's would look out for each other and police each other, they also ended up maintaining the equipment more often and stayed on top of small repairs before they became big ones since a big repair would drop there bonus more. On the down side they ended up jury rigging a lot of things too since it was the cheaper fix (which didn't always work).

I've been toying with the idea about setting something like that up myself.


----------



## elite1msmith

Kinda been there, tried it. 

If you do it, it can't be based on a weekly basis. Because what happens they come to expect it on their check, and when you don't give it to them, they sure put up a good fight. 

Really it's not worth it....and too be honest. Why? What's the point? To help absorb cost of repairs? If the guy is breaking things because of neglect or being dumb, just fire him and move on. Lots of good people looking for work...,,that's the same concept as well keep him, as long as he fixes what he breaks. 

Point is those break downs cost more than just parts, and labor.....in the end there is more cost out the door than that. Just fire him and move on. Pay him fairly


----------



## rcn971

In New Jersey it is 100 percent illegal to have an employee pay to repair or replace a piece of equipment,tool,vehicle....whatever. You can fire them for it no problems but if you ask them to pay for it and they are smart enough to inform the board of labor I wouldn't want to be in your shoes when they get done with you.


----------



## jklawn&Plow

Is there a document for Owners that tells you these laws?


----------



## grandview

This is from California.

http://community.lawyers.com/forums/p/58143/284396.aspx


----------



## wizardsr

rcn971;1271651 said:


> In New Jersey it is 100 percent illegal to have an employee pay to repair or replace a piece of equipment,tool,vehicle....whatever. You can fire them for it no problems but if you ask them to pay for it and they are smart enough to inform the board of labor I wouldn't want to be in your shoes when they get done with you.


In most states it is. But it's not illegal to offer a bonus if they don't destroy your stuff. ussmileyflag


----------



## rcn971

jklawn&Plow;1271668 said:


> Is there a document for Owners that tells you these laws?


I'm not sure where it is but pretty sure you can find it on your board of labor website....it appears as if you are in NY and I am only speaking with knowlege of NJ law. But your question leads me to believe you are heading down the "I wasn't aware of any such thing"if you were to adopt these practices and got caught.....that won't fly here in NJ as they would cite you on your infraction and tell you that you should have known better as an employer. Same thing with illegals....getting a little off the subject but along the same lines....get caught by INS with them in your truck without proper documentation and they can impound your truck and charge you per man....then go through all your payroll records for last seven years. Certain things like the original post here,while making logical sense, just won't fly no matter how lopsided they may appear to be. Every year I issue a complete set of tools to my employees and tell them that I will replace any items that get broken through wear but if they lose them then they will have to come prepared with their own after that. An example was hand pumps.....I went through 3 the year before last cause they kept leaving them at jobsites. After the third one disappeared I let them know that they needed to save their coffee cups in the morning every day to bail out the holes for the rest of the season. That lasted a couple weeks and they bought a new one at the supply house one day with their own money.....haven't had to buy one now in 2 seasons....lol.


----------



## rcn971

wizardsr;1271700 said:


> In most states it is. But it's not illegal to offer a bonus if they don't destroy your stuff. ussmileyflag


Their bonus for not destroying your stuff should be prolonged employment. I used to give my guys a yearly wage increase but after a few years got sick of them not being able to do any more than they could the previous year. So as of 2 yrs ago I let them know that that was over and they needed to do more for more pay....I offered to teach them how to operate our pipe pullers/trenchers on off days and pay them their hourly while teaching them. They all declined not wanting the additional responsibility that came with it and haven't gotten any raises since.....even though I ask them at least 3x a year if they are ready.


----------



## jklawn&Plow

rcn971;1271707 said:


> I'm not sure where it is but pretty sure you can find it on your board of labor website....it appears as if you are in NY and I am only speaking with knowlege of NJ law. But your question leads me to believe you are heading down the "I wasn't aware of any such thing"if you were to adopt these practices and got caught.....that won't fly here in NJ as they would cite you on your infraction and tell you that you should have known better as an employer. lol.


Thanks, Found it . Plenty of reading to do if and when I hire somebody.
I won't go down the road of off the book employees. Too risky from a liability standpoint, irregardless of the legal standpoint.


----------



## V_Scapes

I also agree with RG Peel. we are all human and we all make mistakes. the worker backed over his saw well dont we all have alot on our minds and dont we all get run down after a while. you cant fire someone for one mistake that rarely happens, especially if hes a valuable employee.
Id be pissed if my boss decided to set me at min. wage then have to work to full wage by the end of the week. I come to work knowing im make X amount of dollars and im going to work to my best potential to earn that amount. If you set me at min. wage all your going to get is min wage effort.
If your having this many problems with your guys that you need to resort to these measures maybe you need some new employees.


----------



## Mackman

V_Scapes;1273051 said:


> Id be pissed if my boss decided to set me at min. wage then have to work to full wage by the end of the week. I come to work knowing im make X amount of dollars and im going to work to my best potential to earn that amount. If you set me at min. wage all your going to get is min wage effort.
> *If your having this many problems with your guys that you need to resort to these measures maybe you need some new employees*.


Agree with all of this 100%.


----------

