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Wages & Hours

Minimum wage increase: not 2012, maybe 2013

03/08/2012
President Obama’s push to raise the minimum wage from its current $7.25 per hour to $9.50 will likely fall on deaf ears in Congress this year.

PwC enhances effort to hang on to top staff

02/24/2012
To enhance its approach to compensation and development, PwC has added several programs to demonstrate the long-term value of building a career at the professional services firm formerly known as PricewaterhouseCoopers.

What should we do? If employee took all her comp time, she couldn’t do her job

02/22/2012
Q. We have an exempt supervisor who has accumulated more than 400 hours of comp time over the past year. It’s almost impossible for her to take 400 hours of comp time and still do her job. What is our obligation to pay for this comp time? How can this issue best be resolved?

New state wage theft act requires pay notices

02/22/2012

California’s Wage Theft Prevention Act, which went into effect Jan. 1, criminalizes willful violations for nonpayment of wages and sets civil penalties for failure to pay minimum wages. It also requires employers to provide employees with wage notices …

Automatic pay deduction for lunch: Is it legal?

02/22/2012
You don’t have to pay hourly employees for meal breaks of 30 minutes or more, as long as they are completely relieved of their duties during the break. Many employers automatically de­­duct the meal period from time worked. But make sure there’s an easy way for employees who occasionally work through their meal breaks to report the additional paid time.

Even after Walmart, some class-actions are legit

02/15/2012
Last year, the U.S. Supreme Court dismissed a class-action sex discrimination claim brought by thousands of female Walmart employees. Now the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals has clarified how far the decision goes in class-action wage-and-hour cases.

Make sure you can justify salary differences

02/15/2012

These days, employees are getting braver about discussing their pay. Part of the reason is that the National Labor Relations Board has done a good job publicizing its stance that discussing pay is concerted activity protected by law. Be prepared for the inevitable lawsuits with solid reasons for all pay decisions.

HR salaries: It pays to specialize

02/13/2012
Compensation for employees in HR specialties (benefits, training, etc.) is about 20% higher than for HR general positions, says a report by Culpepper and Associates.

Employee compensation: 12 trends for 2012

02/10/2012
Compensation experts are predicting modest but steady wage growth over the next few years as employers shake off the salary freezes, layoffs and low profits brought on by the recession. Still, a recent Forbes story says 2012 could be The Year of the Employee Back­­lash, as workers look for greener pastures.

OK to pay salary for nonexempt position?

02/09/2012
Q. We are hiring for a new position that does not meet any exemption under the Fair Labor Stand­­ards Act (FLSA). However, we think there will be more interest in the job if we pay a salary. Can we still compensate on a salary basis even if the position is nonexempt?