The Linemen Fix Kit
Built for linemen.
Linemen earn their money in long, dangerous stretches, often far from home, and the pay sits on wage sheets, storm contracts and per diem rules. What leaks is usually paperwork: travel between job sites left off, an apprentice rate paid without registration, a federal job paid below its wage determination, overtime that missed a premium, and storm checks with no tax set aside. Each leak below works from your own stubs and offers. This kit finds where the money leaks in your own work and gives you the steps and the words to close each one.
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The 7 leaks it covers
2 you can close it · 4 the other side owes it · 1 a pro decides
- Overtime paid on base rate instead of the regular rateWhere to look first: Pull your stubs for any week you worked over 40 hours (VERIFIED: DOL Fact Sheet #56A) AND got a premium, a storm bonus or a differential.Keep it from coming back: Every overtime week with extra pay on the stub, check the overtime rate the day you get paid.The other side owes it
- Travel between job sites during the day left unpaidWhere to look first: Write down every day you moved between work locations after starting work: yard to job, one pole line or substation to another, or a staging area to the work site.Keep it from coming back: Log the departure and arrival time for every move between sites, the same day.The other side owes it
- Federal or federally funded job not paid the posted prevailing wage and fringeWhere to look first: Ask whether the job is federally funded or assisted: transmission or distribution construction paid for or assisted by federal money. The Davis-Bacon and Related Acts cover such construction contracts over $2,000 (VERIFIED: DOL WHD, Davis-Bacon page).Keep it from coming back: On every new job, ask on day one whether it is a prevailing wage job and photograph the posted wage determination.The other side owes it
- Paid an apprentice rate without being in a registered programWhere to look first: Check your paperwork: are you individually registered in an apprenticeship program registered with the U.S. Department of Labor's Office of Apprenticeship or a recognized State Apprenticeship Agency?Keep it from coming back: Keep a copy of your apprenticeship registration and check it before any prevailing wage job.The other side owes it
- Storm and travel offers taken without comparing them in writingWhere to look first: For each storm or travel offer, get in writing: hourly rate, guaranteed hours, overtime rules, per diem (amount and every day or work days only), lodging, travel pay to and from, and expected length.Keep it from coming back: Keep every offer in one note with the same rows.You can close it
- Wage sheet, fringe and per diem never checked against the stubWhere to look first: Get the current wage sheet that covers your work: wage, fringe items and per diem.Keep it from coming back: Check the first stub after every new sheet or job.You can close it
- No tax set aside from money paid with nothing withheldWhere to look first: Write down which of your pay arrives with no tax taken out: storm or contract pay paid on a 1099.Keep it from coming back: Move the set-aside the day each payment lands. Put every estimated-tax date your preparer gives you on the calendar in January.A pro decides
Free: one full leak from this kit
No sign-up, no email. Here is leak 1 of 7 exactly as it appears in the kit, so you can see what you get before you buy.
Overtime paid on base rate instead of the regular rate
The other side owes it- Pull your stubs for any week you worked over 40 hours (VERIFIED: DOL Fact Sheet #56A) AND got a premium, a storm bonus or a differential.
- For that week, add up all pay for the work and divide by all hours worked. That is your regular rate. Promised bonuses (attendance, production, safety) count; truly discretionary ones and expense reimbursements do not.
- Overtime is due at one and one-half (VERIFIED: DOL Fact Sheet #56A) times that regular rate for hours over 40 in the workweek. Check whether the stub multiplied base pay alone by one and one-half.
- If it did, send payroll the week, your math and the stub, and ask for the difference.
- If it is not fixed, the Wage and Hour Division takes complaints free and confidentially at 1-866-487-9243. Federal back wages reach back 2 years, 3 if willful (VERIFIED: DOL WHD worker FAQ), so do not wait.
Your part: Check the math, send the email, and decide whether to contact the Wage and Hour Division.
Email to payroll: Subject: Overtime rate check - [YOUR NAME], week of [DATES] Hi [NAME], In the week of [DATES] I worked [TOTAL HOURS] hours. My pay included base pay of [AMOUNT] and [DIFFERENTIAL / BONUS] of [AMOUNT]. My overtime was paid at [OT RATE], which is 1.5 times base only. Under federal rules a promised bonus and other pay for the work go into the regular rate. My math shows a regular rate of [RATE] and an overtime rate of [1.5 x RATE]. Please review this week and any others it applies to. Stub attached. Thank you, [YOUR NAME]
Every overtime week with extra pay on the stub, check the overtime rate the day you get paid.
What this kit can't decide for you: Whether a bonus is discretionary, and whether linemen fall under an overtime exemption, is decided by the Wage and Hour Division or a court, not us. State overtime laws may add more; not covered.
That's 1 of 7. The other 6 come the same way in the kit: steps, words to send, a habit to keep each one closed.
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What people in this work look up
When linemen go looking for answers, they search things like “lineman salary”, “lineman pay”, “lineman per diem” and “lineman overtime”. Those searches turn up forms, averages and other people's numbers. This kit starts from your own records instead: the 7 places money leaks in this work, where to look first and the words to send to close each one.
What you get for each leak
- Numbered steps to close each leak
- Your part, spelled out
- Words you can use: letters and scripts, ready to send (fill in the brackets)
- A habit that keeps each leak from coming back
- An honest line on what the kit can't decide for you
A page from the kit
Questions people ask
Overtime paid on base rate instead of the regular rate: where do I start?
Start here: Pull your stubs for any week you worked over 40 hours (VERIFIED: DOL Fact Sheet #56A) AND got a premium, a storm bonus or a differential. To keep it from coming back: Every overtime week with extra pay on the stub, check the overtime rate the day you get paid.
Travel between job sites during the day left unpaid: where do I start?
Start here: Write down every day you moved between work locations after starting work: yard to job, one pole line or substation to another, or a staging area to the work site. To keep it from coming back: Log the departure and arrival time for every move between sites, the same day.
Federal or federally funded job not paid the posted prevailing wage and fringe: where do I start?
Start here: Ask whether the job is federally funded or assisted: transmission or distribution construction paid for or assisted by federal money. The Davis-Bacon and Related Acts cover such construction contracts over $2,000 (VERIFIED: DOL WHD, Davis-Bacon page). To keep it from coming back: On every new job, ask on day one whether it is a prevailing wage job and photograph the posted wage determination.
What it can't decide for you
This kit works from your own records. It doesn't give legal, tax, licensing or financial advice, and it never tells you what to charge. Where a CPA, attorney, insurer or state board makes the call, the kit says so and gets your records ready for them.
13-page PDF · instant download after payment · Code VYR-KIT-LINEMEN-01
Opens secure checkout. Instant download after payment. 30 days to ask for a refund — refund policy · terms
Next step
- Run your free LeakReceipts check — it reads your own receipts and records and shows where money is leaking out, line by line.
- TrueNET — the whole-picture money truth: what you actually keep after every cost, across everything you earn and spend.
Use Jobber or Housecall Pro? Run the free leak check — it reads your job export in your browser and shows the money leaks the software doesn't flag. Nothing is uploaded.