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Compensation & Benefits

Solid salary plan beats equal pay lawsuits

04/14/2009

If you haven’t looked carefully at how you determine compensation, here is another reason to do so soon. Employers that can show a court they set salaries based on logical, fair and unbiased factors are likely to win Equal Pay Act lawsuits. That’s because the EPA outlaws sex discrimination in pay, but allows employers to use factors other than sex to set pay rates.

Family Dollar owes big bucks to misclassified managers

04/14/2009

Family Dollar Stores recently got a lesson in the nuances of overtime labor law. The 11th Circuit Court of Appeals has upheld the $35.6 million settlement of an FLSA class action suit brought by store managers at the discount chain.

Check overtime, other pay practices: DOL cracking down after scathing report

04/14/2009

The U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division is preparing to crack down on employers who stiff workers out of overtime pay after a government uncovered a pattern of ignoring alleged employer wrongdoing. As enforcement gears up, we’ve got resources you can use to make sure you’re in compliance.

Minnesota’s 8.8% unemployment rate outpaces national average

04/09/2009

The recession is taking a heavy toll on Minnesota jobs, and the state’s 8.8% unemployment rate is higher than the national average. Duluth and St. Cloud had the highest unemployment rate in the state—9.8%. The nationwide unemployment rate was 8.1%.

Carefully word draw-against-commission contracts—or be prepared to lose money

04/09/2009

If you pay employees on a commission basis and allow them to draw against those commissions, be very careful how you word the contract language. If you don’t specify that employees must repay any draws they do not earn back with commissions, they won’t have to.

Changed work schedule isn’t workers’ comp retaliation

04/09/2009

A minor schedule change to accommodate medical restrictions isn’t retaliation.

Can we cut employee pay to reduce costs?

04/09/2009

Q. We are considering layoffs but would like to avoid them. Can we cut employees’ pay because of tough economic times?

Legislation would scrap state’s prevailing wage

04/09/2009

A bill before the Minnesota Legislature would allow the state to suspend prevailing wage requirements on state-funded construction projects if November budget projections show a 1% or greater deficit. State prevailing wage legislation is patterned after the federal Davis-Bacon Act, which requires federally funded construction projects to pay the “prevailing wage” for specific job classifications.

What to do when a Department of Labor auditor comes a-knocking

04/08/2009
Suppose an employee has complained to the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) about possible wage-and-hour or overtime violations in your workplace. Once you’ve been notified that an auditor is coming, get prepared by conducting your own audit. Labor’s auditors have plenty of latitude to inspect records and interview employees, so make sure you’ve done everything […]

‘Honor Roll’ companies adopt eco-friendly policies

04/07/2009

Employers that made the 2009 Companies That Care Honor Roll are going green. Organizers of the 37-member Honor Roll point to a growing trend among applicants toward benefits, policies and activities that shrink their environmental footprint. Some of them encourage their employees to do the same. Some examples: