Blacksburg daycare Rainbow Riders facing labor law scrutiny
Rainbow Riders Childcare Center on Blacksburg's Research Center Drive. Photo by Matt Gentry | The Roanoke Times
The facility will pay two years’ worth of back overtime.
In a March 16 three-page letter written to Rainbow Riders teachers and staff obtained by The Roanoke Times, the daycare’s administrator, Kristi Snyder, referred to an “unexpected” Department of Labor inspection that occurred last week, saying that it stemmed from employees not being paid overtime based on a 40-hour work week.
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The assumption by the federal government is that childcare workers are babysitters and not teachers. The teachers at Rainbow Riders may not fit our government’s view of what a teacher should be – and we all know how the government always knows what is best for us (/sarcasm). My children have learned so much at Rainbow Riders and the teachers give so much. Now, thanks to the feds, teachers have to stop when they leave and not work on educating our children until they walk in the building the next day. That is unless we want to make quality child care available only to those with high incomes, since they are the only ones who can afford to pay all the extra hours.
Comment by Rainbow Riders Parent — March 22, 2012 @ 9:04 pm
I am sure if you ask your child’s teachers what their annual salaries are, you you will not find one that earns $20,000/yr. Is it really fair for you to expect them to work beyond their 40-hour work week, even at the expense of their own family/personal time? Would this not affect the quality of the education they are able to offer your children? I’ll buy into the teacher exemption argument when preschool teachers are truly compensated for their hard work and sacrifices.
Go Feds!
Comment by Proud preschool teacher — March 23, 2012 @ 3:08 pm
“That is unless we want to make quality child care available only to those with high incomes”
I am pretty sure the only people who can afford Rainbow Riders have above average incomes, especially if they have more than one child in daycare. RR charges one of the highest daycare tuition rates in the NRV. And their rosters are always full, so they don’t have to worry about having open spaces (not true at other daycares). And they receive a $100,000 grant annually from Virginia Tech (not that its helped this VT employee get childcare at RR for my 2 children, and I’ve been on the waiting list for over 3 years). I am surprised that RR reported a loss in 2011 given all of the money that they receive annually, a benefit that most other daycares don’t have. I do feel bad for the teachers who I’m sure work hard and do a great job (otherwise there wouldn’t be a waiting list). But I can’t help but wonder if RR administrators and management were a little too generous with their own raises and bonuses to wind up in the red. I also feel like their daycare workers should get paid OT for the time they spend working on curriculums at home, if they have put in 40 hours a week at the RR facility, because I don’t think they get the “perks” that most public school teachers get (such as extended time off in the summer).
Comment by NRV Parent — March 23, 2012 @ 4:53 pm
I agree, the teachers at Rainbow Riders are so much more than babysitters and they do care about our children. But if you value the individuals who are caring and educating your children, then you should care that they are only being paid a little over minimum wage and apparently not being compensated for overtime hours they have worked. I saw an increase in tuition that was needed in order for the staff to receive raises. It sounds as though they did not receive their raises, nor have they been paid for the additional hours they were working to begin with. I’m not sure how Rainbow Riders can say the backpay will be their raise. Backpay is for hours already worked without compensation. Being paid for that time is in no way a raise. I don’t understand why you would expect them to continue to work on educating your child while at home on their own time. I for one, respect and value the individuals who care for my child and hope this situation is righted.
Comment by Rainbow Riders Parent #2 — March 23, 2012 @ 9:51 pm
I am sure if you ask your child’s teachers what their annual salaries are, you you will not find one that earns $20,000/yr. Is it really fair for you to expect them to work beyond their 40-hour work week, even at the expense of their own family/personal time? Would this not affect the quality of the education they are able to offer your children? I’ll buy into the teacher exemption argument when preschool teachers are truly compensated for their hard work and sacrifices.
Go Feds!
Comment by Proud Preschool Teacher — March 23, 2012 @ 10:02 pm