What's A Fair Wage?

So, I make an hourly wage where I work (no surprise there) plus a percentage of each dollar charged in labor as commission. In the last year or so my company has added more work in the form of me working out of town for cable companies. I go there and install leakage detection equipment in fleet vehicles for Comcast mostly but other smaller companies as well.

My problem is that I get paid less than I would normally because my boss is a brother-in-law to the owner of the company sub-contracting us out to do these installs and he is getting a labor discount. Regardless, even if I got paid exactly the same, it seems odd that there is no extra pay for having to work out of town. Sometimes I drive up to 2 hours away every day for a few days, leaving my wife to deal with the things I normally do everyday (morning routine taking my daughter to school and picking her up, etc...).

Should I suck it up and just be happy I have a job or am I (hate to use the word) entitled to a higher wage while doing this sort of thing? I've worked here for 6 years and I am the only tech they have.

Well for starters, I hope they are covering your fuel costs. IMO I think you should be entitled to some sort of additional compensation if you are routinely asked to spend several days away from home at a time.

While it sounds like you have a new set of duties, are they giving you additional work hours? Or are you still working a full 40 every week?

12 hours of driving in a few days? At least get yourself a rental on their dime.

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Originally Posted by AdamVR4

12 hours of driving in a few days? At least get yourself a rental on their dime.

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Agreed. You should be paid for traveling that far. Not sure what the norm is but we get $0.55/mile where I work. That's a LOT of traveling if you aren't compensated for it.

Um, if you're just asking if you should get paid more for working out of town, the answer is a big fat NO. Sometimes a job description will change over time to include travel. That doesn't mean you're going to get paid more. What it DOES mean is that you should be compensated for your travel time and expenses.

I used to have to fly back and forth to Jacksonville, Dallas, and Salt Lake City. The company paid me for travel time, which basically starts the second you leave your home until you arrive at the hotel, and vice versa. But I didn't make more money just because I was out of town.

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Originally Posted by UTRacerX9

Um, if you're just asking if you should get paid more for working out of town, the answer is a big fat NO. Sometimes a job description will change over time to include travel. That doesn't mean you're going to get paid more. What it DOES mean is that you should be compensated for your travel time and expenses.

I used to have to fly back and forth to Jacksonville, Dallas, and Salt Lake City. The company paid me for travel time, which basically starts the second you leave your home until you arrive at the hotel, and vice versa. But I didn't make more money just because I was out of town.

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Agreed. Paying extra for working at a different location, No. Compensating you for having to travel to that location, Yes!!

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Originally Posted by UTRacerX9

Um, if you're just asking if you should get paid more for working out of town, the answer is a big fat NO. Sometimes a job description will change over time to include travel. That doesn't mean you're going to get paid more. What it DOES mean is that you should be compensated for your travel time and expenses.

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Originally Posted by DrGonzo

Agreed. Paying extra for working at a different location, No. Compensating you for having to travel to that location, Yes!!

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These

I agree, travel costs only.


As for fair wages...has your pay at least kept up with inflation?

Not sure, I started in 2006 making 8.50 and im at 12.95 right now. Not exactly what I wanted to be making at 32 years old but I haven't always made the best choices in life so...