Payroll

Does docking pay affect FLSA status?

09/05/2008

Q. I recently docked one of my salaried employees’ pay for damage he caused to his company vehicle. My HR director said that by doing so, we might have made the employee eligible for overtime pay. Is this true? …

Salaries up slightly in ’09, with more pay for performance

09/05/2008

Despite the economic gloom dominating the headlines, three new national salary surveys predict that U.S. employers will generally hold salary increases steady in 2009. The surveys show employers plan to award average pay increases at or near 3.8% next year, nearly identical to raises given in 2008 and 2007. But smart employers aren’t handing out 3.8% across the board …

It’s official: State employees must pay union dues—indefinitely

09/03/2008

In an era when so few things are certain, it must have been heartening to state labor unions when the New York Legislature and Gov. David Paterson granted them permanent access to state workers’ paychecks. In July, Paterson signed into law a bill that requires all public employees in the state to pay dues …

Calculating overtime when the workweek doesn’t correspond to pay periods

09/02/2008

Q. We pay our workers every two weeks. How should we calculate overtime? …

How to comply with Colorado’s 3 newest workplace laws

09/02/2008

The Colorado Legislature passed several laws during the most recent legislative session that will directly affect Colorado employers, and more changes may be on the way. HR professionals need to update workplace policies and procedures to comply with these new worker rights and employer obligations …

Can we require repayment of moving expenses if a new employee quits?

08/22/2008

Q. Our company plans to hire a manager who will move to North Carolina from out of state. We will pay her moving expenses. Can we recoup those payments if she quits after moving here? …

Is it permissible to recover education reimbursements from final paychecks?

08/22/2008

Q. Our company has a program that reimburses employees for work-related educational programs. However, if the employee leaves the company within one year of the reimbursement payment, the employee must repay the company. Can we take this repayment out of the employee’s final paycheck? …

Can we withhold pay from workers who clock in early?

08/19/2008

Q. Some of our nonexempt employees occasionally begin work before their established starting times. We’ve always paid them for this time, but I’ve recently read that Georgia employers don’t have to pay an employee for such time if the early start was not approved in advance. Is this true? …

The ‘multiplier effect’: How small wage-and-hour violations cost big

08/15/2008

For California employers, even minor wage-and-hour violations can wind up costing employers millions of dollars. Blame it on California’s infamous “multiplier effect,” which can come into play in any wage-and-hour case, but which really adds up in class-action suits …

Keep exact timecards, or court will use worker’s estimate

08/13/2008

Here’s an incentive to make sure you account for every hour your nonexempt employees work: If an employee claims you didn’t pay her what you were supposed to, and you don’t have accurate time records, the court will calculate what you owe based on the number of hours the employee tells the court she worked …