Before You Work for NTI › What technicians should know

Technician checklist before you sign

Written by a technician whose job ended for "absenteeism" during an emergency room stay. General information, not legal advice; laws differ by state and by how you are classified.

1. The attendance / absenteeism clause

Find it. Read whether there is any exception for illness, injury or hospitalization. If the contract is silent, ask in writing: "If I have a medical emergency and miss work, is that treated as absenteeism?" Save the answer, or save the fact that nobody answered.

2. Medical leave, before you need it

Ask who approves leave, how fast you must give notice, and what proof is acceptable. In an emergency you may not be able to follow a process, so know the fallback: who a family member should call, and what they should send.

3. Hours and overtime

Keep your own daily log: start, stop, travel, on-call time. In the US, many employees are owed overtime above 40 hours a week, but classification (employee, independent contractor, exempt) changes the answer. Ask how you are classified and why. The US Department of Labor Wage and Hour Division explains the rules.

4. Records to keep from day one

• Your signed contract and every policy you were given.
• Pay stubs and your own hours log.
• Texts and emails about schedules, absences, and medical situations.
• Screenshots of bank deposits and pay stubs, especially around a termination.
• Names and roles of everyone you dealt with, and dates.

Keep copies somewhere the employer cannot cut you off from.

5. Put pay problems in writing, the same day

My PTO was paid out in five days instead of at once. As I read my union contract, a late payout had a set remedy, but I had not given written notice, so I had no claim. Many contracts and laws work this way. If a final check, PTO payout, or notice pay looks wrong, send a dated message saying so, and keep a copy. Also read what your contract says about pay in lieu of notice when a termination is for absenteeism.

6. Ask about apprentices and temp labor

Ask whether the company hires and trains apprentices, how many of its technicians come through temp agencies, and what the path is from one to the other. Ask current technicians, not only the recruiter. In my time at NTI I never saw an apprentice hired and I saw temp-agency labor used wherever possible, so I wish I had asked.

7. Check what a certification really means

A class and a credential are not the same thing. BICSI sets its own requirements for its credentials, so check them at bicsi.org. If an employer offers in-house training toward one, ask who the instructor is, what their own qualifications are, how many hours it is, and what happens if you do not pass. Ask for the answers in writing.

8. If it goes wrong

Write down what happened while it is fresh, request your personnel and pay records, and read your options.

9. Read the reviews, all of them

See public reviews and the links to the original sources. Weigh the good with the bad, and ask current technicians questions before you sign.