Labor disputes are always a hot topic on the internet, and they are the hot topic within hot topics.
No other reason, just because there are so many wage earners, everybody can empathize with such situations.
So, when the judgment indicated that replying to messages after work hours or on rest days can count as overtime, many wage earners were boiling with excitement.
"This should've been considered overtime a long time ago, damn it, I'm off work and still have to keep an eye on WeChat, always worried about missing any message, ending up more tired after work than during work!"
"Exactly, I have to carry my laptop even when going out with my wife and kids on the weekend, just in case the boss calls and wants some work done, and they don't even consider it overtime."
"I really want to vomit, miss one message and you're accused of not being serious about your work, damn it, even after work you get this 'not serious about work' crap, so how exactly does this work!"
"Does this mean we can also bring similar lawsuits in the future, and even get the support of the court?"
Many wage earners were leaving comments under the report, voicing their dissatisfaction.
There was no help for it, social media was becoming increasingly developed, the line between working and non-working hours was getting blurred, and the cases of invisible overtime were multiplying, yet the law hadn't kept pace.
As a result, many people now believe only work that's similar to regular working hours should be called overtime, what kind of overtime is replying a WeChat message!
At this time, the judgment truly refreshed many people!
Moreover, as the report said, the plaintiff who filed the lawsuit didn't even hire a lawyer; he relied solely on himself to win the case!
This was truly dramatic, like the protagonist straight out of a power fantasy novel!
An ordinary employee gets dismissed by the company out of the blue, responds with a lawsuit for sky-high overtime compensation, and even wins—what kind of feeling is that!
However, every forest has all sorts of birds, and the internet always has its fair share of bizarre opinions.
Though if you look closely, you'll realize none of these opinions are new...
In Magic City, Lin Wuchang was casually browsing online news. He used to be a lawyer, and he's also an economist and sociologist—yes, an expert in the internet sense of the word.
He used to post articles or comments about various current events, giving his two cents on everything, whether it was his field of expertise or not.
Then he came across the "after-work WeChat reply counts as overtime" issue.
Especially when he saw many comments saying things like "Look, that person won without even hiring a lawyer," he suddenly became dissatisfied!
Lawyers are quite a proud bunch, after all, there are real barriers to entry, and they're quite high.
This kind of thinking is normal and there's nothing wrong with it, but some lawyers are more extreme. They are extremely sensitive to many topics.
For instance, right now, Lin Wuchang felt very uncomfortable seeing that comment. What does it mean, that an ordinary person could be more professional than us lawyers?
Moreover, this case was the first regarding invisible overtime and hefty overtime compensation; he was extremely opposed to the so-called labor law.
Don't be surprised, not to mention the time of its enactment; even now, there are still many who believe that labor law is purely evil!
Here, I need to clarify for many people, what we call and commonly use is the Labor Contract Law. Many on the internet say it's the one we established to join the WTO, which is called labor law.
These are two different things; the Labor Contract Law was passed in 2007 and officially implemented in 2008—calculate how many years apart from joining the WTO...
Of course, even the enactment of the Labor Contract Law had huge controversies back then. We paid too much attention to protecting the interests of existing employees within enterprises. Such a thing is actually detrimental to the development of the enterprise. In fact, it can cause problems for the long-term economic growth.
Furthermore, many company owners and chairpersons expressed strong dissatisfaction, things like "luxuries before wealth," implying it could cause an economic collapse...
Many knew the situation back then. The internet was not nearly as developed as it is now. The opinions that could be heard were those of the "elite class" or "entrepreneurs," etc.
So... the situation was just like that.
And now, Lin Wuchang felt that he had to say something. Soon enough, he published an article titled,"Replying to a WeChat Message Can Earn a Hefty Overtime Compensation, Is This Really a Good Thing?"
"I really don't think it's a good thing; I even think the so-called hero who initiated the lawsuit has a bit of a vibe of suing just for the money!"
"Is money won through a lawsuit? Money should be earned through one's efforts; he may have won the case, but he lost his morals. Okay, workers are protected by the Labor Contract Law, but what about the employers, who pay taxes and provide job positions? If, in the end, the company goes bankrupt and they end up with nothing, who's there to protect them?"
"Everybody sues, the company goes bankrupt—then who provides jobs? I'm really curious how your brains are wired. Without the company, where would you go for work? Haven't you heard the idiom 'No skin, no hair'?"
"I really don't think replying to WeChat after work can be considered overtime. The person who filed the lawsuit is either stupid or bad, with mostly bad intentions... "
He wrote on and on, and as soon as the article was published, it sparked an even larger debate!
Wage earners always want to work less and earn more; this contradiction is basically natural.
"Tian Tian": Six hundred thousand in overtime pay—just think how much he must have earned for others in those two years? Shouldn't he reflect on that first? Why should you just get that much money?
"Stars and Moons": I also saw that news, and the comments were all like a celebration. It didn't seem right to me, if everyone sued, which company could withstand that!
"Dreams of Chang'an": I think so, too, but thinking about it, the internet's degree-holding rate is only six percent, so there are too many brainless people. This article is very thorough in its analysis! Thɪs chapter is updated by novel fire.net
"Exactly, which company doesn't have an emergency situation? Getting a sudden notice after work, I think it's quite normal. How can that be classified as overtime? There must be a problem with this!"
These opinions sparked dissatisfaction from others, and both sides argued into a complete mess.
Meanwhile, inside Bluebird Company, people from the operations department were collectively dumbfounded by the report!
That little Tang, he actually sued for six hundred thousand in overtime compensation?
He'd only worked there for two years!
If he earned six hundred thousand for two years of work, what about us? Could we do the same thing?
Not just them, but Manager Liu, who was packing up in the office, also had the same thought!
He, too, had been working hard with overtime—now the boss had done him wrong!
In such a situation, it didn't take long for people to find Tang Fangjing's short video account and his trashy Weibo account.
Immediately, various comments started flooding in...