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Payroll

Deductions endanger exempt status

12/01/2000
A group of New York City employees was designated as salaried and exempt from overtime, but several regulations subjected city workers to pay deductions and suspension for absences. None of these …

Tally up payroll to find out if Title VII covers you

12/01/2000

Q. We have about 15 employees, many of whom work part time. A former employee filed a charge of discrimination against the company under Title VII. We don’t think our company is covered by Title VII because we don’t have 15 workers scheduled to work in most weeks. Do you think the case could be dismissed with that argument? —R.B., Texas

Know the law on what’s considered paid and unpaid on-call time

11/01/2000
Electronic technicians for Oklahoma Gas & Electric were required to monitor pagers and home computers while they were on call nights and weekends. Even though …

Avoid time sheets for independent contractors

11/01/2000

Q. Does asking independent contractors to complete a time sheet jeopardize their independent contractor status? —P.M., Washington, D.C.

Plan any deductions for personal calls

11/01/2000

Q. We allow employees to use their company-issued cell phones for personal purposes up to a certain number of minutes every month. A recently discharged employee exceeded her monthly allotment. Can we recoup the cost of these extra minutes by withholding the amount from her last check? —P.P., South Carolina

Management meeting counts as work time

11/01/2000

Q. Last week, we asked a nonexempt employee to come in 30 minutes before her regular start time to talk to her about a complaint that had come to our attention. Do we have to pay her for the time spent in discussions with management? —G.B., Kentucky

Extra travel time counts as work time

10/01/2000

Q. One of our executives will be making day trips once a week to New York from Washington, D.C., for a special assignment, and her secretary will be accompanying her. The secretary’s regular workday is 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. The trips will require the secretary to arrive at the airport by 7:30 a.m., and she’ll be back in Washington by 8 p.m. Do we have to compensate the nonexempt secretary for her travel time to and from New York? —L.L., Washington, D.C.

Go the distance to deliver final paycheck

09/01/2000

Q. Over the last six months, we have made several attempts to mail a former employee her last paycheck by certified mail. We believe that we have the correct address because we mailed her other items by regular mail during this period and none have been returned. What legal obligations do we have, if any, to get this check to her? —R.Y., Washington, D.C.

State may let you force worker to foot the bill for your error

08/01/2000
For two years, Batteries Plus was erroneously generous with one of its employees’ paychecks. Clinton Mohr had been receiving mileage reimbursements …

Don’t miss SIMPLE deadline

08/01/2000
If you have 100 or fewer employees, you can set up an uncomplicated retirement plan called a SIMPLE (Savings Incentive Match Plan for Employees). But there are a couple of key …