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Wages & Hours

End the silence: The case against secret salaries

09/21/2011

It’s a golden rule in most businesses: Salaries must be kept secret. It’s almost universally accepted that mayhem would ensue in the workplace if people knew what their co-workers, their managers or—gasp—the CEO was making. Three major reasons why secret salaries are silly, according to consultant Alexander Kjerulf:

L.A. ‘hostess’ dancers sue for wage violations, harassment

09/20/2011
A group of dancers at a Los Angeles “hostess club” are suing for wage-and-hour violations, claiming the owners of Club 907 also subjected them to “exploitative, substandard and degrading working conditions.”

Does San Francisco car wash soak its Latino workers?

09/20/2011
The city of San Francisco has filed suit against a car wash for overtime and waiting-time violations. City Attorney Dennis Herrera and La Raza Centro Legal allege that Tower Car Wash, which has a contract with San Francisco to wash city-owned vehicles, failed to pay employees for the hours between when they arrive at work and when they’re permitted to clock in.

How can we recoup stolen money?

09/16/2011
Q. We just fired an employee after discovering that he stole $5,000 from the company. Do we have to pay the employee his final paycheck or can we apply that paycheck toward the $5,000 he owes us?

Electrolux redux: Ramadan schedules still in dispute

09/16/2011
Last year, Electrolux agreed to adjust its break schedule to accommodate Muslim employees working the evening shift at its St. Cloud plant. The EEOC mediated last year’s agreement in a process that was hailed as a model of cooperation between the employer, employees and the federal government. Problem solved, right? Not so fast.

Off-hours training: Paid or unpaid?

09/14/2011
Q. We are requiring some hourly employees to take additional training. Those who work the day shift can attend the training in lieu of work. But employees who work the night shift will have to come in during the day. Must we pay extra for the night shift employees to attend the training?

BellSouth ‘managers’ win class certification

09/13/2011

A federal judge has allowed an FLSA class-action lawsuit against BellSouth Telecommunications to move forward. The class consists of “level-one” managers who claim they have been misclassified so the company won’t have to give them overtime pay.

Butler County contemplates settling bias claims

09/02/2011
Butler County may have to pony up more than $100,000 to settle claims it discriminated against a small group of female county employees, all over age 40, who were forced to take pay cuts last year.

DOL building pay database to spot discrimination

09/02/2011
The DOL has requested public comment on its proposed pay-and-benefit database for federal contractors. The database would show what pay and benefits federal contractors offered to employees with an eye toward spotting potential pay disparities that may discriminate against women and minority employees.

Former TSU hoops coach wins $730,000 for sex bias

09/02/2011
Former Texas Southern University women’s basketball coach Surina Dixon has won $730,000 in a sex discrimination and retaliation lawsuit she filed after being fired in 2008, shortly after she was hired.