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What If You Got Paid Overtime For After Hours Blackberrying

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by Kevin Maney
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Jul 10 2008 12:00am EDT

What If You Got Paid Overtime for After-hours Blackberrying?

Kevin Maney stirs the pot: Goes to show how technology can get way ahead of society's institutions. Lawyers (obviously looking for a payday) are raising the idea that non-exempt workers who are issued Blackberrys and answer e-mails after hours could sue for overtime pay. 

Actually, the whole contract between employers and workers is a mess. In a knowledge economy, who works 9 to 5? The old guard never anticipated laptops that allow employees to do their work anytime, anyplace, almost as if they were in the office. Never anticipated cell phones or handheld e-mail that let work intrude on restaurant dinners, kids' soccer games and sleep. Maybe it's good, maybe it's bad -- but what's not arguable is that there are no agreed-upon rules. Just look at the comments about this issue on Slashdot -- they're all over the place.

And while we're at it, why is retirement age stuck at 65? That was set back when most people died before then.

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