Fortenberry v. Gemstone FoodsIf one of your employee suffers an “adverse” outcome, don’t be surprised after the fact by a supervisor who struggles to “yeah, but…” for a valid reason.
In Fortenberry v. Gemstone Foods, you’ll find a road map for how not to manage an otherwise salaried workforce. The production managers, maintenance managers and purchasing manager(s) were frequently required to work weekends at the plants, yet only the production and maintenance managers enjoyed a weekend shift premium. And curiously, the only female in the bunch was the purchasing manager. When that disparity was pointed out, Gemstone shuffled through a series of rationalizations that were systematically shot-down by Fortenberry’s counsel.
If working on non-traditional times like weekends and midnights is something that you believe is necessary for your business? Then it’s also necessary to treat the geese and the ganders similarly. Either everyone gets a shift premium, or no one does. And either way, make sure your job descriptions support your position.