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Compensation & Benefits

OSHA to Clarify Protective-Equipment Standard

06/01/2007

Who pays for an employee’s personal protective equipment (e.g., gloves and steel-toed shoes): the employer or the employee? Federal regulations are unclear in most cases. But that may be changing …

New study turns up heat on child labor compliance

06/01/2007

Many teenagers operate hazardous equipment at work and fail to receive appropriate safety training, according to a new study by the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health …

Overqualified new hire? Look out for sex disparity

06/01/2007

Have you offered a well-qualified applicant a lower-ranking position than her experience indicates she’s qualified to perform? If so, better make sure there’s no sex disparity in your hiring patterns …

N.J. working women earn petite paychecks

06/01/2007

College-educated women in New Jersey earn 66 cents for every dollar earned by similarly educated men, the second-largest pay gap in the nation after Louisiana. Nationally, college-educated women average 69 cents on the dollar. …

Setting overtime with Pa. agency covers fed claim too

06/01/2007

Good news for employers: If an employee files an overtime claim with the Pennsylvania Department of Labor & Industry and the department settles the case and collects wages for the employee, the employee can’t turn around and also sue under the FLSA …

Paying employees on commission? Clarify terms up front to defend against WPCL claims

06/01/2007

The Pennsylvania Wage Payment and Collection Law (WPCL) allows employees to sue their employers for unpaid wages, including commissions and the like. Because the WPCL allows any wage contract claim, including oral agreements, it’s important for employers to clarify the terms up front and preferably in writing …

Pa. working women earn petite paychecks

06/01/2007

Women in Pennsylvania earn 73 cents for every dollar earned by men in similar positions, compared to the national average of 77 cents on the dollar …

Same job, new management: Are employees covered by the FMLA?

06/01/2007

Q. What is the policy on FMLA for workers who are employed by a county facility that puts their contracts out for bids? Let’s say the workers are employed by the first successful bidder for, say, three years and then the contract is re-bid. Another company wins the bid, takes over the job and keeps the same employees. Do their hours worked carry over even though it is a different employer? I could not find a reference to this problem in the FMLA guidelines.

Pay for training time

06/01/2007

Q. If our organization offers voluntary training to our employees and the training takes place during their lunch hour, do we have to pay the employees for the time spent attending the training? 

Goodyear pays $227,792 in back wages to Texas workers

06/01/2007

The U.S. Labor Department (DOL) recently announced that Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co., following a 2006 judgment, has paid 211 employees $227,792 in back wages. The wage awards went to current and former technicians at its Houston and Bayport chemical plants …