• The HR Specialist - Print Newsletter
  • HR Specialist: Employment Law
  • The HR Weekly

Payroll

Minimum wage: Brush up on your legal obligations

09/01/2002
THE LAW. The federal Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) requires virtually all employers to pay at least a minimum wage, now $5.15 an hour, to all nonexempt employees. Many states also …

Payroll records: Fine-tune exempt, nonexempt timekeeping

08/01/2002
THE LAW. Federal wage-and-hour laws don’t require you to have a time clock, but they do require you to have a reliable system to keep track of employees’ hours and pay …

When to Pay for Rest Breaks

08/01/2002

Q. What’s the deal on paying workers for rest breaks? —J.S., California

Employees can use vacation time toward one-year FMLA eligibility

07/01/2002
Robert Ruder began working in management at a Maine hospital on Jan. 5, 2000. Exactly one year later, he left work for unspecified medical reasons. His employer denied his request for …

New wage and hour threat: ‘Donning and doffing’ crackdown

07/01/2002
The government is going after em-ployers that don’t pay workers for time spent putting on and taking off required work clothes and protective gear. In one of the largest settlements …

Rules of the road: Know when to pay for travel time

07/01/2002
Employers know they don’t have to pay Joe Worker for his typical commute into the office. But pay-for-travel questions …

Be Wary of Firing Overpaid Employee

07/01/2002

Q. Is it legal to terminate an employee because he makes a high salary? —J.L., Arizona

Be Cautious in Requiring Payment From ‘Short’ Cashier

07/01/2002

Q. Management wants to institute a policy that requires cashiers whose registers are short at night’s end to replace the disputed amount out of their own pockets. Does this violate the law? —B.B., New York

Dual-Method Time Sheets OK

06/01/2002

Q. Our nonsupervisory, hourly employees punch in using a time clock. Our supervisors write timecards. Is this dual method acceptable or could it lead to legal trouble? —A.N., New Hampshire

Sharing pay data can violate antitrust laws

05/01/2002
Employees sued 14 major oil companies, claiming that the firms swapped employee salary information to hold down pay levels in violation of the Sherman Antitrust Act. A federal appeals court agreed, …