This is a common trick being used by big companies to get around such employer mandates.
For example, FedEx. They subcontract delivery/pickup in many local areas to a small company (less than 50 employees). These employees wear FedEx uniforms, drive trucks with FedEx logos, all paperwork on packages says FedEx, but they are not FedEx employees – they work for a small local operator who subcontracts to have his employees do the work. But the shippers don’t know that.
These subcontractors are tightly controlled by FedEx – their contract usually requires that they can’t do work for others, often FedEx loans them the money to purchase their trucks, their uniforms, etc. all come from FedEx, their job direction & work standards are set by FedEx managers – but legally they claim that these workers are not FedEx employees. They work for this sub-50 employee company, so many other regulations (like Family Medical Leave Act) besides ObamaCare do not apply to them.
(It also works well as an anti-union effort.)
This basically a scam – they aren’t really ‘independent’ contractors in any sense of the word.
What Nothar said. Along with HR responsibilities, payroll and any number of other factors. Aside from just schools, a number of businesses are using services such as ADP for co-employment situations where the service is the employer of record so they take on all those responsibilities.
But, the sub market is a competitive one. AFAIK, all the subs make the same amount regardless of their skills/degrees. So if you want to have your pick of schools and your pick of schedule, and be called every day, then be a sub with an education degree. Or any degree.
If you want to make $150 a week and make it while babysitting 4th grade special ed at the school 45 minutes away, be the sub with the high school diploma.
My point is…just because the minimum requirement to be a sub is a high school diploma doesn’t mean that is who is being hired each day. Don’t automatically think that the use of subs means simply putting up warm bodies to make sure kids don’t kill each other for 45 minutes at a time.
This is Obama’s fault because EVERYTHING is Obama’s fault.
Seriously, if you are in an industry that has been mentioned even remotely in passing by the president it is very easy to just throw your hands up and say, “Damn Obama, making us do these horrible things that are impacting your children/healthcare/ice cream/etc.” I am in health insurance and a surprising number of people buy into this stupid logic. The company I worked for from 2008-2012 saw increases in insurance premiums of 15%-25% every single year and their response was, “Well, at some point Obama is going to pass a health care reform and we can’t afford that so GIVE US ALL YOUR MONEY AND BLAME OBAMA!” The response from pretty much every single person was, “Dammit Obama, get your socialism out of my health insurance!” even though for much of that time there was no guarantee of passing an insurance reform, let alone any knowledge of what any reform might or might not end up doing to their operating costs.
FYI that’s FedEx Ground The people that don’t work for Fed Ex (with the red and purple logo) drive trucks that say FedEx Ground (with a green logo). You can tell the difference because they practically spin their wheels off of each red light. I live right in an area that houses a lot of trucking companies, including a FedEx warehouse and I’ve learned that being behind a FedEx (Ground) truck at a red light is never an issue because they’ll almost always take off faster than any of the cars.
IIRC, they either get paid salary or per package or there was some other incentive for them to get their route done as quickly as possible.
This is interesting. I know where I live it is terribly difficult to become a substitute, and it requires a degree and a pretty extensive approval process. I also know a few people (where I used to live, mostly) who basically became substitutes because they didn’t have degrees and there was nothing else as convenient. In those areas, a day pays about the same as a 8-hr retail shift, but with a lot more flexibility and w/o the need to have 24/7 availability and get 6 hours of work per week.
When I was a kid, substitutes did nothing but “baby sit” and they were usually somebody’s SAHM trying to make extra money (and frequently not accepted for cafeteria positions). I guess they are expected to do something these days.
Well to me a sub needs to be a part of the teaching process. When a class has a sub for a day the kids still need to learn. My son has had some teachers where I swear they had a sub at least once every week or so and the kids didnt learn much those days. That teacher had a kid at home and every time their kid was sick or had an appointment, her class got a sub. Another teacher took 2 weeks off to get married and go on her honeymoon and then was pregnant and took more time off. I think they only saw her maybe half the year.
Plus what happens in one classroom with a sub often affects the entire school. At the elementary where my wife once taught if they couldnt find a sub for say a 4th grade class they would put those kids into other rooms and then sometimes numerous teachers were out so it got to the point where teachers were constantly having all these extra kids from different age groups in their rooms with nothing for them to do but cause trouble.
When I was subbing I remember sometimes you had classes where the teacher had a great handle on things. The kids knew what to do and you just filled in had fun. Other times the kids were just wild and little could be done so the principal just said “keep them in the room for 50 minutes”.
Most schools require a teacher to have a sub folder with seating charts and 5 days worth of lessons but after that 5 days, a sub is on their own and has to come up with their own lesson plans. This is why in our area (Kansas) subs must have a teaching degree.
Also in our area I think the daily rate is $120 and a long term sub gets $135 plus if they are there over 30 days they get a sick day. One problem there though is the sub doesnt always have access to the kids records so how do grades get assigned?
Computers are an issue since subs rarely are given access to student records and passwords to do many assignments and activities.
Some schools have “building subs” who are paid a full salary and benefits and work in a building and sub in whatever classes are needed that day.
I always left detailed lesson plans that covered the same material I would have covered. Most of the time it worked out well, but most of the time I was getting a sub I requested, and someone I knew could handle it.
Teachers are out of the classroom too often for every absence to be a movie day, at least in my district. There were always committees, or curriculum meetings, or inservices we were supposed to go to, plus any sick days we needed.
Question: Did you do that because you were required to by your school or just because you knew it was the right thing to do?
At your school does the principal or anyone else check sub files to make sure they are there?
My experience is too many teachers leave nothing, not even a seating chart and the day goes bad for the sub, the kids, and the neighboring classrooms which sometimes have to deal with an out of control classroom.
Note - Once my mother was subbing and the she had to take the kids on a field trip which went bad because at the event there were 3-4 other classes of kids and she didnt even have a list of the kids that were hers or any idea what the procedures were. A kid could very easily have wandered off or gotten into trouble.