Free Weekends

Ever feel like there's not enough down time?  I've posted about this issue before, but it deserves mention again.  So for my long-time readers, a golden oldie (edited to reflect changes in life) from the MySpace files about taking a day off!

In the book of Exodus, after the Jews were wandering in the desert for some time, they had to start work on the Tabernacle.  Moses gathered everyone together and reminded them about the Sabbath -- work six days, but no work on the Sabbath, in fact don't light any fires in your home that day. Then the people got on with the continued construction of the Tabernacle -- bringing gifts of gold, silver and copper -- tapestries in the colors of blue, purple and red -- to the point where the people gave more than was necessary and had to stop.
There's kind of a contradiction though -- first we're reminded not to work on the Sabbath, and then there's another detailed blueprint for our Tabernacle -- which entails a load of WORK. Granted, building the Tabernacle is quite an undertaking -- one that might even entail "coming in on weekends." But that initial disclaimer seems to indicate that as important as it was to finish the job right, it was even more important to have that one day of rest per week. Implicit in the directions and measurements was a 24-hour stop-work order that could never be altered.

Some of us have heard horror stories about modern-day laborers being faced with pitifully low wages, unavailable health benefits (go get it from Medicare, that's what it's there for, according to Wal-Mart), and unbearable hours. It's a shame that most employers don't take the lesson of this reading -- no matter how big the job, no matter what it entails, it can't take up every second of every day. There has to be some time, at least one day per week, for each worker to enjoy life.
HOW ABOUT THE REST OF US?
For many of us, a day of rest is an unattainable luxury. Some of us are forced to work on that extra day because the money we earn the rest of the week just isn't enough. And even worse, some of us have more than one job, so while we have at least one day off from one job, it's a working day for the other one.
What's somewhat frustrating for those of us who must go without that day of rest is that there's nothing to take its place. When people who have one job work more than 40 hours per week, they're entitled to overtime pay. But when people work side jobs, or a second job, even if their total hours for that week exceed 40, there is no overtime available. The employer who already pays 40 hours could say hey, you worked all your regular hours for me, that's all I have to pay you, it's not my problem if you work somewhere else.
This situation could be changed by providing additional benefits for concurrent employment. When someone is hurt on the job in New York State, he is obviously entitled to receive workers' compensation benefits. But if the worker has more than one job on the date he gets hurt, the wages from all of his jobs are added together to total a greater average weekly wage than just the job where he was injured, and that means he's entitled to more benefits every week than if he was only working one job (subject to a maximum of approximately $738.00 per week). N.Y. Work. Comp. Law 14(6).

Well, how about all the working men and women who aren't injured, but are slowly being run ragged from working weekends and multiple jobs? I think we need a change. If employers can't or won't give overtime to their workers who work second jobs or side jobs, that's a loss that needs to be recouped. The Earned Income Tax Credit, which can reduce the taxes such workers owe by up to approxinately $4,000, is an excellent start, but still more improvement is needed. Greater credits or deductions should be available in the form of "overtime" to those who work more than one job (as long as one of the jobs is full-time at 40 hours per week). The percentages and particulars should be left to the experts, just as the construction of the Tabernacle was left to expert craftsmen, but a solution is possible.
In the end, this credit or deduction would not be able to buy back the days of rest that such workers go without. But it would save them money that would otherwise be spent on overwhelming expenses, and that could lead to some days of rest down the line.

I know a few important people in my life who work too hard.  They have their reasons for it, but it's not pleasant to know that they have to do it.  One of these people picked an industry that is not regulated by any government entity, and is free to permit obscenely low pay, or no pay, to those who choose to attempt a career.  Another one of these people happens to work many hours of blood, sweat, and tears to do what is needed, but is sometimes left at the mercy of "this economy."  Some manage to "not let it bother them" (not on the outside, anyway), but others lash out in frustration and resentment at anyone else who rubs them the wrong way.

What's my solution?  I didn't read "The Communist Manifesto" by Karl Marx, but I did read "Nickled and Dimed" by Barbara Ehrenreich.  I do know a thing or two about the plight of the working poor, and the scant opportunities for peace and harmony it provides.  Accordingly, along with the credits I outlined above, all industries (even ones that try to have their labor designated as something other than "employees"), need to allow their labor one day off, paid if possible, no matter what!  I don't care if it's welding, law enforcement, medicine, law, or entertainment.  All work and no play makes Jack not only dull, but frustrated, depressed, and sometimes unapproachable!

Feel free to comment, especially if you have a day off today!