Guerrilla Employee Tactics

A guide to fighting the unethical employment practices of IT companies.

Version 1.0
October 2004












By:
HateBSC2
Co-Administrator,
BunkTek Forums
http://ibt.phreak2000.net




Copyright 2004 HateBSC2. All Rights Reserved.
1
Table Of Contents





Introduction 3

Labor Law 4

Keeping Records 5

Recording Calls 9

Formal Complaints 13

Creating A Web Site 14

Digging Up Dirt On Your Employer 15

Resources 16

Credits 17



















At the end of the guide you will find printable copies of the Weekly Mileage Record and the
Weekly Time Record for your own use or as templates to create spreadsheets that work better in
your situation
2
Introduction



Although this handbook is written for employees in the IT industry many of the
techniques can be used by people working in other industries, simply adapt or discard the
techniques that do not apply to your situation.

So, you're a hardworking Joe, busting your ass day after day. You rack up 50 or 60 hours
per week on average but can only claim 40 or less because your POS employer has said that
anyone claiming over a certain number of hours per week will be let go. This is becoming
rampant in the IT industry. Companies use these tactics every day. You're told that if you
complain they'll replace you with one of the 300+ resumes sitting on your manager's desk.
You're afraid to speak up or do anything to defend your rights because you need a job and jobs
are hard to find. Being scared is normal, the uncertainty of being unemployed for even a short
time scares each and every one of us. Employers know this and use this to their advantage every
day.

You used to be a full time employee with good benefits, decent pay, a turkey or ham at
Christmas and a paid vacation. Now you're lucky to make ends meet, there's no Christmas turkey
or ham, hell there isn't even a thank you for a job well done. Benefits? What the hell are those,
my employer considers being employed a benefit.

Does this sound like you? Does this sound like your employer? It does? Well then, you
need to read on and let me tell you how to fight back... and in the end win.

The first thing to do is understand that you are not alone. Millions of workers across the
US suffer under these same conditions. A hundred years ago these same conditions gave rise to
the union movement. Unfortunately, many unions had become as corrupt as the companies they
say they protect workers from. This needs a new approach, the Guerrilla Employee Tactics
approach.
3
Labor Law



Once you realize that you are not alone you need to learn your rights under federal and
state law. This is easily enough discovered by searching the Internet. I have included some
important parts of employee laws below and links to government websites where you can obtain
further information.

Federal Law: Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), US Department of Labor
www.dol.gov/esa/whd/flsa/

The Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) is the federal law that governs all workers. It sets
minimum standards for wages, over time, breaks, lunch, etc. Most states have additional laws
that increase the protections afforded to workers.

IRS: Internal Revenue Code
www.irs.gov

The IRS makes the ultimate determination as to whether you are an employee or an
independent contractor. The IRS uses For SS-8 to make this determination. The determination is
based on various factors with control exerted by the employer being one of the major factors.
Download a copy of Form SS-8 www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/fss8.pdf and see the types of questions
and information they take into account when making a determination. You can get a fairly good
idea of whether you are an employee or an independent contractor by looking at this form.

State Law:
www.ahipubs.com/internet/dol/statelist.html Links to labor law and departments in all 50 states.

In general each state follows FLSA, many states have greater protections than the FLSA
provides. California, for example, calculates overtime on a daily basis while other states
calculate over time as anything over 40 hours worked per week.

The following are examples of violations of labor law

Comp Time, this is where your employer gives you time off instead of paying
you over time.

Not counting your administrative time as time worked.

Requiring you to be available for work where you can not use "waiting time"
Effectively for yourself, but not paying you for it.

Pay attention to the rules for posting of notices at the web sites above. Many employers
that violate labor laws dont bother to post required notices in their offices.
4
Keeping Records



Make sure that you keep detailed records of all your activities. Create spreadsheets with
the following information:

Weekly Mileage Record Weekly Time Record
Your Name and the week Your Name and the week
Date Date
Call / Job number Call / Job or Activity
From: Address Start Time
To: Address Travel Time
Odometer Reading (Start and End) End Time
Miles Driven Total Time
Notes Regular Time
Over Time
Notes


You can keep one sheet for every week, more if needed. You may find it easier to break
up the time and the mileage into two separate spreadsheets. On your time record you want to
make note of any time you were required to wait, the start and end time for your day, when you
took breaks and how long. Remember that each state varies in how it calculates breaks.
Generally it is 2 paid 10 minutes breaks per 8 hour period, and an additional 10 minute break for
each 4 hour period or part thereof (2.5-4). If you work a 14.5 hour day then you are entitled to
four 10 minute breaks. If you do not have time for these breaks make note of it. A break is
generally defined as personal time in which the worker is relieved of all work place duties, if
your cell phone rings and you are required to answer it, your break has been interrupted and is
not a break. Breaks and lunch taken in your car between service calls / jobs as you are driving are
not breaks or lunch.

For the purposes of record keeping you need to know when your time starts. Your time
starts when you do any work related activity. For example, you are required to check you email
and service calls / jobs first thing in the morning from home. If you start doing this at 7 AM this
is when your day starts. If after checking your email and service calls / jobs you drive to a
courier to pick up parts, the drive to the courier is not counted as work time; once you arrive at
the courier all time spent getting and sorting parts is work time. If you go directly to a service
call / job from home this time is work time. If on the way to the courier you are making work
related phone calls on your cell phone it is work time.

Below are pictures of the information you will need on each of the spreadsheets.


5



6
Keep copies of all paperwork provided by your employer. This means service call or jobs
sheets, any contracts or written instructions you are provided. If you are required to turn these in
make sure that you make copies some how. If your employer provides contact lists for
management or other employees make sure you keep a copy. Keep copies of all time sheets and
reports you submit. Be sure you make note of any changes that are made without you
authorization. If you are forced to submit a time sheet with a fixed number of hours regardless of
how many hours you actually worked make sure that you keep copies of both.

You may be saying to yourself, "This sure is a lot of work". Yes it is. It has to be. You
have to be able to document everything if you go to court or to the labor board. Without this
documentation you will have no basis for any claims that you may make for money owed you. It
is much easier to develop a routine now than it is to obtain the information later. You might be
thinking that your employer has all these records in electronic or other format and you will just
request them. Don't fall into this trap. Documentation, be it email, pay records, service call or job
records can and have been altered in the past and will be in the future. The minute or two per
service call or job this extra paperwork will take is far less than the amount of over time you are
being denied. Think of it as an investment, you invest the time and you get a greater return in the
end.

Now to email; this is another method of threats and intimidation used by managers. Make
sure you keep a copy of each and every email that contains a threat or instruction to do
something wrong. If you can, make sure that you have keep copies of every email you receive or
send. Forward them to a personal account or print them off, but make sure you have a copy,
preferably with full headers.

Does your company require that you close your service calls or jobs using a web based
interface? If so make sure that you have a program such as Time Keeper, a free download from
many software sites such as www.downloads.com, which will help with time and date stamping
your screenshots.

When you are closing your last service call or job of the day run Time Keeper and make
sure it is on top. Before you submit your information and have all required information filled in,
then make a screen shot to be kept with your other records.

To make a screen shot without any additional software press the Print Screen button, then
open MS Paint, press Control-V to paste, click Yes if you receive a message that the image is
larger than the canvas and it asks you to resize. Save the screen shot with the full date in the file
name such as day-month-year-screenshot#. You can also do this if your company requires that
you perform web or computer based training or with email clients. Screenshots can be made at
the end of your day and when you first do work in the morning.

Below is an example of a screenshot with Time Keeper. Time Keeper lists the time, day,
month and year. It takes this information from your computer, so make sure that the time and
date on your computer is accurate.
7
8
Recording Calls



Now that you know your rights and the records you need to keep, it's time to get down to
business with the tactics. You are going to need to purchase a few things in order to do this right.
The first item you need is a cell phone, we all have one. In the IT field service business our
employers require us to have one. Make sure yours has a 2.5 mm headset jack. This is standard
on most new phones, if yours doesn't have this you will need to get a new phone or an adapter
for your phone. See Radio Shack for an adapter.

The next item on your list is a headset for your phone. The headset has to have a 2.5 mm
plug, if your headset doesn't you will need to get a new one. I suggest a good quality headset
with noise canceling microphone, volume control and mute. I prefer over the head styles. Now
that we have the headset we need three more items. The first is a "Wireless Phone Recording
Controller", catalog number 17-855 from Radio Shack. This has a 2.5 mm plug to plug into the
headset of your cell phone (or cordless phone), a 2.5 mm jack to plug a headset into and a cable
to go to the 1/8 inch microphone in jack on a tape recorder.

Speaking of a tape recorder, you will need one of these as well. Make sure that the tape
recorder you use is fairly small, a micro cassette type is ideal. Make sure it takes normal size
batteries, has a 1/8 inch microphone in jack, and can be used with an external power supply. You
plug the Radio Shack controller into the 1/8 microphone in jack. I prefer using tapes instead of a
digital recorder for the simple reason that original tapes are hard to refute as being tampered with
if they are ever used as evidence in court.

Below are pictures of a typical recording set up. These pictures use a cordless phone,
your mobile set up will use your cell phone.



9




10


Make sure that you are familiar with the phone recording laws in your state, and the state
for any of your supervisors if they are from a different state than you. This site lists information
on recording phone conversations in each state www.callcorder.com/phone-recording-law-
america.htm

Why do I need all this equipment you ask? Well, there is nothing better than being able to
play a recording of a phone call where your supervisor told you to do something illegal. It gives
you lots of ammunition to use at a later date if you need it.

If you are required to attend conference calls from home consider getting a cordless
phone with a headset jack (2.5 mm) so that you can record these as well. Many companies use
weekly conference calls and require attendance. Many of these conference call systems
automatically record the conference calls so that those who missed them can listen to them later.
This is a very popular feature with crappy employers. If the conference call system tells you that
it is recording the call then you do not have to worry about your state laws as notice has already
11
been provided by the system and anyone attending has automatically given their permission to be
recorded.

Now that you have all the equipment and know the basics of what you are going to do, it
is time to become specific.

You want to make sure that when you are driving or onsite that you allow your cell phone
to go to voicemail if the call is work related. This gives you time to get your system ready to use,
and supervisors are always more than happy to scream at your voice mail, threaten you, etc.
You're a captive audience. Think of it as providing the rope for your POS employer to hang
themselves with. Once you receive a voicemail message go ahead and listen to it, if it needs to be
recorded play it again and record it. Make sure that you catch any time stamping, or state the date
and time before you record the message. Once you fill up a tape, label it and put it away.

Make sure that you record all conference calls and put each tape away after you have
finished recording. Make sure that you time and date stamp the recordings at the beginning and
end of every conference call.




12
Formal Complaints



If you want to be formal with your complaints you can go to www.irs.gov and download
IRS Form SS-8. The SS-8 is what the IRS uses to determine if you are an employee or an
independent contractor. Keep in mind that your employer will know that you have filed this and
may retaliate. There are laws at the federal and state level that prohibit retaliation, but you may
still be out of a job. Another route to go if you want to report the wrongdoing is to call the IRS
Criminal Investigations Division at 1-800-829-0433. You can remain completely anonymous.
You can also contact your state Department of Labor to learn the procedures for filing a
complaint (www.ahipubs.com/internet/dol/statelist.html for a list of state sites) and / or the
National Labor Relations Board www.nlrb.gov for more information and options.

If you decide to call the IRS CID, you can do it from a pay phone. You can also give this
number out to co-workers, or have a friend or family member call as well.

If your company has an Ethics Line run by a third party you can file an ethics complaint.
In many cases you can file the complaint anonymously you may want to use a different office
address than your own to help make it more difficult to identify you.

If you have a number of local co-workers that feel the same as you it is possible for all of
you to speak with an attorney, contact the Department of Labor or the National Labor Relations
Board or even contact a union. Another option is to start an employee web site and contact
people from your contact lists and let them know of the web site. If you choose to go this route
or contact people by email consider getting a HushMail account www.hushmail.com. This is a
truly anonymous email service; it strips out your IP address. Yahoo, hotmail and most other
"anonymous" email services will still include your IP address. With your IP address it is possible
and very easy to find a general location for where you are.

You may also want to contact the US Department of Labor Occupational Safety and
Health Administration (OSHA) www.osha.gov. OSHA regulates workplace health and safety
issues and has regulations that employers must follow. If your employer does not have the
required FLSA and state posters then chances are there is no Material Safety Data Sheet (MSDS)
for any cleaners, solvents or chemicals used in your work place. Everything from glass and
bathroom cleaner to isopropyl or denatured alcohol used in the work place must be accompanied
by MSDS sheets, and in most cases first aid kits and eye wash stations. OSHA can shut down
your local office as well as the entire company if your employer is violating OSHA rules and
regulations.

The U.S. Department of Justice is another federal agency you may want to report any
illegal activities to www.usdoj.gov.
13
Creating A Web Site


If you start a web site make sure that that the hosting company you are using is not going
to close down your web site at the first threat from your employer. You can check out an
effective employee based web site at http://ibt.phreak2000.net. The administrator of the
Phreak2000 Network will host your website for a small fee, he will not cave in to the threats
from your employer. In your web site make sure that you have private areas for the majority of
your discussions, a members only web site is not a public web site and can be treated much
differently than an open public web site by the courts.

Make sure that you make it quite clear that members of management of your employer
and other agents of your employer are not welcome and by visiting your website are in effect
committing cyber trespassing. Make sure that you review a number of employee based web sites
to get tips and ideas on how to organize your site. Many web masters of these sites will be more
than happy to discuss some of the protections they use, and what they have found to work. I Hate
Dell www.ihatedell.org is an example of an open web site. BunkTek Forums
http://ibt.phreak2000.net is an example of a closed, members only web site. As the co-
administrator of BunkTek Forums I am always willing to share tips with people starting their
own employee web sites.

If you are creating a web site youll need something to run it on. phpBB is a free PHP
based message forum available from www.phpbb.com. If you want to add chat to your website
try X7 Chat at www.x7chat.com, it is free as well. There are many other options out there..
14
Digging Up Dirt On Your Employer


If you get to the point of going before the Labor Board or in front of a judge you will
want to demonstrate that your employer has a history of labor related abuses. You can find this
information by searching the Securities and Exchange Commission web site if your company is
or was publicly traded. The SEC maintains the EDGAR search which allows you to search by
company name for all SEC filings, this search is free. You can search EDGAR at the following
site www.sec.gov/edgar/searchedgar/companysearch.html.

Another place to search is PACER. PACER will allow you to search for court cases in
most states. PACER does require membership and minimal quarterly payments, but can aid in
finding out just how dirty the past is for your employer. You can find out more about PACER at
the following site http://pacer.psc.uscourts.gov/.

The IRS and most state departments of labor maintain lists of companies that they have
filed actions with. You can check their respective web sites to see what information is available.
You may also be able to file a Freedom Of Information Request to obtain any documents these
agencies may have on your company.

In many cases employers who are violating labor laws will not file the proper
unemployment insurance information or contributions with state unemployment agencies. You
can call your state unemployment agency to see what information they have on file for you and
find out what your company has been telling the state government regarding your employment
status. Sometimes employers will under report your earnings even if they classify you as an
employee.








15
Resources


Below are a number of resources, many have already been mentioned in this guide.

Federal:
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), US Department of Labor www.dol.gov/esa/whd/flsa/
National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) www.nlrb.gov
Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) www.osha.gov
U.S. Department of Justice www.usdoj.gov


IRS:
Main IRS web site www.irs.gov
Publication 15, Circular E, Employer's Tax Guide www.irs.gov/publications/p15/
15-A, Supplement to Circular E, Employer's Tax Guide www.irs.gov/publications/p15a/
IRS Taxpayer Advocate 1-877-777-4778
IRS Advanced Tax Law Division 1-800-829-4933
IRS Criminal Investigations Division 1-800-829-0433
Direct link to the Form SS-8 www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/fss8.pdf

State links:
Links to labor law and departments in all 50 states www.ahipubs.com/internet/dol/statelist.html


Articles:
Court rules threats of retaliation are illegal www.eeoc.gov
Punitive Damages for FLSA Retaliation Claims
www.rothgerberjohnsonlyons.com/newslettersarticles/le0042.asp
A legal article about control under IRC and FLSA
www.piercegorman.com/Classification_of_Workers.html


Other:
Phone Recording laws www.callcorder.com/phone-recording-law-america.htm
phpBB www.phpbb.com
X7 Chat www.w7chat.com
SEC EDGAR company search www.sec.gov/edgar/searchedgar/companysearch.html
PACER http://pacer.psc.uscourts.gov/
HushMail www.hushmail.com

16
Credits



Thanks go out to all the BunkTek Forums members who have made this possible.
Without BunkTek Forums and the posts there I would never have written this guide.

Special thanks to CE3IBT for designing the printable record sheets; converting them to
PDF format for use in this guide; and for all the proof reading and suggestions.

If you would like to contact me you can send me a message by going to BunkTek Forums
http://ibt.phreak2000.net and clicking on the Contact Us link on any of the pages. Alternately,
you can send me email at hatebsc2@yahoo.com.

The latest version of this file will be available at BunkTek Forums.














HateBSC2

October 2004




If you find this guide useful, visit BunkTek Forums http://ibt.phreak2000.net and make a
small donation. Your donation will help keep BunkTek Forums running, insure periodic updates
to this guide, and generally help with making sure that people who are getting screwed by
unethical employers will have a voice on the net. If you make a donation please note GET
with your donation.


Permission is granted to reproduce this document, upload to any web site or file sharing
service or otherwise distribute this document. You may not modify any part of this document.
17
Call/ Job or Start Travel End Total Regular Over
Date Activity Time Time Time Time Time Time Notes





































Weekly Time Record
Name: Week Of:
Call / Job From: To: Odometer Reading Miles
Date Number Address Address Begin End Driven Notes
Daily Mileage: Mon.__________ Tue.__________ Wed.__________ Thur.__________ Fri.__________ Sat._________ Sun.__________
Weekly Mileage Record
Name: Week of:
Weekly Mileage: __________