Asking a paid coach to volunteer their time?

[BlairBob]

Aerialriver, this would be illegal. I'm not surprised they are doing this and getting away with it. Is there no parents club? Some gyms operate without a parent's club because booster clubs can be messy or unorganized. However, in this case, the gym is clearing abusing it. Those coach's fees should be going straight to the coaches unless it's included in their salary. There is a reason that gym is raking in money if it doesn't have to pay for labor at meets which typically would be parent volunteers.

I'd tell them to go climb a rope and let go.

CA labor law requires that if you go in to work, you clock in for a minimum of 2 hours. There are also necessary breaks. These practices are generally ignored in many, if not most gyms. That means if you only coach 1 class for 45m-90m, you should be clocking in for 2h. Same goes with meetings.

Another tricky thing is, if you bring this up to the owners, they may fire you for it. Then you'll need to get a lawyer or contact the local BetterBusinessBureau and Labor board. In the meantime, you're still out of work and whatever settlement you get may not be worthwhile considering time lost. Finding a lawyer who would be willing to take this case for probably a meager settlement at best.

Taking breaks is difficult in a gym setting. If there is a floor manager, you can often get excused to go quickly use the bathroom or you can have a water bottle handy. Some gyms will allow for coaches to eat on floor while some will say it's unprofessional (which honestly I don't care seeing as if I don't eat, I won't have energy, which will make you a very cranky coach/person). Taking breaks can also be solved if there are group warmups so not every coach is warming up their own classes for 3-5 classes in a day. With team, you can sometimes sneak a way to use the restroom or grab a snack but it's virtually impossible in a rec setting.

 

[NYgymfan]

I'm sorry, I misunderstood the original post. Clearly, if someone is telling you to work for free, that is not the same as "pro bono", which is strictly volunteering.

I honestly don't know what I would do. What they are doing is probably against labor laws. Unfortunately, if you tell the owners to go take a hike with their idea, you might get fired. Yes, that is not right, but it could happen. You could get a lawyer and fight it, but as BlairBob says, the cards are stacked against you because you have to prove that they broke the law (innocent until proven guilty, a cornerstone of the American legal system), they do not have to prove their innocence. In the meantime, if word gets out that you are taking them to court, you might not be able to get a job at another gym.

Could you just come up with a "good reason" for each meet? Maybe you could have 'another job' that "just so happens" to require you to be working on weekends or something.

Do you know if other coaches feel the same way? If you all stick together, maybe will get a hint that their idea isn't going to work.

 

[Deleted member D3987]

"I'd tell them to go climb a rope and let go." hahaha...i love that!

 

[BlairBob]

it used to be one of my favorite tell-offs that doesn't include explicit language.

Telling them you have another job to do, that pays is probably what I would use.

 

[gymnut1]

Maybe if the coaches got together and suggested a compromise eg for every hour they are paid they will 'consider' working another hour as a volunteer at a home meet or something.

 

[BlairBob]

That means you're asking coaches making minimum wage to effectively work for 1/2 of minimum wage. Ouch.

$4.25/hr was minimum wage in 1996 with my first job at a drugstore and I actually made 50c/hr more +bonuses on weekends (50c/hr+ or $1).

I understand making sacrifices to keep your gym afloat in these arm times but that is gonna be hard to swallow when the owners are living posh.