Wages & Hours

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?

Pay cut for poor work? Document carefully

02/03/2012

If an employee isn’t working as hard as you expect, reducing his pay might conceivably provide enough of a kick in the pants that he’ll pick up the pace. As long as you carefully document why you are making the pay cut, he won’t win a discrimination case even if his pay puts him at a lower level than others outside his protected class who perform the same job.

‘Black Swan’ interns sue, say they should have been paid

01/31/2012

Fox-Searchlight Pictures faces a class-action lawsuit in New York from unpaid interns who worked on the production of the hit film “Black Swan.” The interns claim Fox-Searchlight failed to pay them for their work in violation of the FLSA and recent DOL guidelines.

President proposes new pay rules for home health workers