I've had a ton of success with O-1s for founders and key hires for early stage companies; it's definitely not a "genius" visa. I sometimes refer to it as a founder's visa. It's even easier that you've secured angel funding.
Shoot me your contact information, and we'll find out within 15 minutes whether it's worth a shot.
The logic is true: whether or not a company will go for it does not necessarily bear on fairness.
And I think that instead of .5 PTO for weekend hours worked, maybe consider 1.5x or 2x pay hourly to cover the premium for working instead of living. It has to stop somewhere...
Part of worker organization is telling both the rational and emotional reasons why it's better to have workers who can put down their work for more important things, like family and life outside of work.
I like the hourly approach or at least the effective hourly approach. I.e., track every hour you work and every quarter, 6 months, or year, show your employer what your effective rate is and why it isn't fair.
I also like the notion that this is a responsibility the employer should bear. I.e., the employer should pay the employee for every hour worked. If you're working for equity, then maybe not. But I think there should be some kind of premium or balancing for hours worked on time off.
In the end, it's good for employees and employers. Employees are happier and valued; employers get happy and productive employees.
Looks good to me. I'll try to title each aspect and kick the tires from a compliance standpoint:
- Work Late, Sleep Late. This reminds me of policies for truck drivers and pilots, which make sense to me--you don't want employees to "crash" product. A bit of a pain to track hours, but there are plenty of hour-tracking systems, and tracking hours can be a great tool go back and review your own productivity. (Caveat: I have to track every hour.)
- Daily Overtime. This is in some ways a reality in several countries' labor laws. We have seen labor lawsuits (e.g., in China) where the employee prevails on unpaid overtime because it is the employer's responsibility to keep track of overtime. And in some countries' labor laws, overtime = any time over the daily AND weekly max (e.g., Brazil). Again, we are tracking and accounting for hours, but I am someone who loves to hit the clock and see what I got done yesterday, last week, last month.
- Your Time is Worth More Than Ours. I love it. I think 1.5x or 2x time is more reasonable than 4x time on the weekends, but the eventual number, whether 1.5x or 10x, is somewhat arbitrary. The point is that this policy screams that the employer values people's lives and makes a company think twice before making people give up their spouse, partner, kids, family, friends, health, hobbies, etc.
- Clock Management. This is a great policy, which we've seen elsewhere and written for employers. Bottom line, I think: if your team is always working nights and weekend, something is out of balance. I agree that it is better to have a rule in place and an objective way to track it than it is to have a disgruntled team for even a second. I think a red light should flash and a foghorn sound when a team goes over budget on time. I know it does in my line of work if I were to exceed a client's time budget. It's by no means unforgivable, but it almost always a management shortfall.
Overall, I see two themes--time tracking and employer responsibility--in your suggestions, which interrelate. My main thoughts are:
1. How would it go over with teams if we asked them to hit a digital clock and log their hours?
2. Could we brand this as part of our identity as an employer that doesn't wants incredibly efficient employees and management?
3. Do you see this in already in one form or another in your other workplaces? (I do.)
4. Could we brand this as in the employees' interests and not Big Brother making the employees punch their time cards?
5. Could we couch all of this as the employer's responsibility and not one more task we pile on our employees?
Incredibly valuable point of view. Your frustration demonstrates how a PTO policy can hurt an employer more than it protects.
I work on employee leave policies with companies, and we constantly struggle to balance these needs. While companies have different needs, I think that all companies need to listen to their employees.
If I may pick your brain, what would a reasonable policy look like at your company?
I can gladly play the role of the worry wart employer and see if we could flesh out a policy that would work.
As a lawyer, I think you should start by looking at competitors or parallel sites' policies. Depending on what your site does, you'll be able to pick and choose and come up with a better idea about the policies that you want and what they'll do for you.
From there, take a stab at an outline. Then slap together some prose based on what you saw elsewhere. Then, use a generator.
At that point, you'll you'll have some templates that you can run by a (few) lawyer(s) who can quote a price to sign off on something that you can use. You'll be a better client, which could save you money, build knowledge, create a better product, and perhaps start a trusting relationship with an advisor who can help you out on all the other stuff you need as you grow.
The legal stuff that your site (and your business) encounters should not be a mystery. Contrary to what most people tell you, law can be pretty accessible. The problem is that if you try to become an expert on one issue, you'll waste a lot of time and energy getting it right. And then you can't really replicate that knowledge in most situations in a way that will be worth your time spent learning it.
Shoot me your contact information, and we'll find out within 15 minutes whether it's worth a shot.