The random political thoughts thread (Part Deux)

[katiesue]

Question that I have no idea how to google. A lot of employers in the US keep workers hours to a minimum in order to avoid making them "full time" employees and having to provide benefits. My question is, in other countries with socialized medicine so that's off the table, is this also the case? Do they not let employees have enough hours to make a living?

[Moonliner]

Originally Posted by katiesue

Question that I have no idea how to google. A lot of employers in the US keep workers hours to a minimum in order to avoid making them "full time" employees and having to provide benefits. My question is, in other countries with socialized medicine so that's off the table, is this also the case? Do they not let employees have enough hours to make a living?

I would start with this.

[katiesue]

The link comes up with a lot of US statistics. I guess to refine my question it's in countries where the benefits are off the table. Can people who who choose to, a lot work part time on purpose, get enough hours say at Target or McDonalds to be full time. Here the trend seems to be to hire more people so they all work less hours so they don't have to pay benefits. Am I making any sense?

I'm just wondering if taking health benefits off the table to to speak, would make a difference for people who work minimum wage in getting to work as may hours as they'd wish.

[Alex]

France, for example, had (a think the recent governments have loosened it) a 35-hour maximum work week with a pretty strict cap on overtime. One of the express purposes of which was to force employers to hire more people by limiting how many any individual could work.

Minimum wage is about $12/hour and I can't speak at all to how close to a living wage that is.

But yes, if there is no additional employment cost of allowing someone to work 40 hours instead of 20, I'm sure most employers would prefer to have one 40 instead of two 20. But there are a lot of things that muddy the issue on employment cost besides just healthcare.

[katiesue]

Thanks Alex - that was what I was finding out trying to research - it's a pretty muddy subject.

[Ghoulish Delight]

While I believe the plight of the families of the Arizona firefighters make an excellent object lesson as to why relying on employer-provided health benefits is a disastrous model for the country, and find the whole thing tragic and depressing...I can't say I'm no board with the request for the governor to step in and grant the benefits. This doesn't seem to be someone using a technicality to get out of paying out what they should. To me, they signed up to be seasonal workers, and signed up to accept the limited benefits that come with that.

[katiesue]

I have to agree. It's sad for them but it's what they signed up for. My Dad was a firefigher for a few years then a logger. Both considered seasonal workers. He never had any sort of benefits (at least from logging). Yes you do work more than 40 hours in the season, but you don't work year round. And they do get some benefits, just not the benefits they would if they were full time. They're kind of trying to make it sound like they're out in the cold. Even back in the day, early 70's, it was difficult to be considered full time. Dad went back to college to finish his degree so he could be considered and he ended up getting passed over. That was when he moved to logging.

[Ghoulish Delight]

Hmm. The civil case against Paula Deen was thrown out of court by the judge. Essentially because the judge determined that since the person bringing the suit was not the target of the alleged racial discrimination.

I suppose I follow the logic there, but I'm not entirely comfortable with it. As I see it, that means if I am at a workplace where the management is allowing the N word to be thrown around with impunity, and I'm the only one with enough courage to stand up to it, then I don't get the same legal protection if I decide to confront it, because I'm white and it's not aimed at me. Doesn't sit right.

[alphabassettgrrl]

I never got the feeling that she was the nasty one, just the one targeted, in part I suspect because she has more money than her brother. I share your dismay in the logic, though. Either something bad is going on or it isn't, and it shouldn't matter that I'm not the one targeted.

Sexual harassment suits can be brought by third parties, so why not this one?

[Alex]

On the work hours question above, there was a story on the radio about a group in France trying to counter persistent unemployment by reducing the weekly work cap to 32 hours. It did not mention a simultaneous increase in minimum wage.