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Wages & Hours

U.S. trails the world on paid maternity leave

04/14/2011
You can count the number of nations lacking a definitive law providing paid maternity leave on one hand—and still have two fingers left over. Guess what. One is the United States. That’s what Human Rights Watch found when it studied family leave practices worldwide.

Planning to offer bigger raises this year?

04/12/2011
More employers are planning to offer bigger raises this year, now that business has started to rebound. A survey by Towers Watson found that companies are optimistic and budgeting for merit increases of 3% this year, up from 2.7% in 2010.

Do we have to pay for smoking breaks?

04/07/2011
Q. We give employees a one-hour unpaid lunch break. We don’t provide additional paid breaks during the day. If an hourly employee also chooses to take short smoke breaks (less than 20 minutes) in the morning and afternoon, do we have to pay her for the breaks?

2011’s biggest wage-and-hour issues–and what to do about them

04/06/2011

This year is shaping up to be a tough one for organizations worried about employment law issues. So far, the U.S. Supreme Court has decided three big employment law cases—and every time, ruled in favor of employees. The latest expanded employer retaliation liability under the FLSA. But that’s not this year’s only press­ing wage-and-hour problem. Pay atten­tion to these other issues:

Overtime suit takes big slice out of pizzeria

04/06/2011

Mama’s Pizzeria in Copiage will be serving up $780,000 in back pay and liquidated damages to its 40 employees to settle a federal lawsuit. An investigation by Wage and Hour officials found that many of Mama’s employees were forced to work 70 to 80 hours a week without receiving overtime pay.

FLSA violations cost Houston grocer $2 million

04/06/2011
A Houston-based grocery chain, Hong Kong Group Inc., has paid $2 million to settle a lawsuit alleging wage-and-hour violations that involved phony payroll records and attempts to coerce employees into returning pay they had already received.

Justify exempt status to avoid class actions

04/06/2011

It takes just one or two disgruntled employees to start an FLSA class-action overtime lawsuit. Be prepared to fight such lawsuits early and vigorously. Your best bet: Classify employees correctly in the first place.

States consider letting employers offer comp time

04/01/2011
For years, business groups have unsuccessfully lobbied Congress to give employers the option to substitute compensatory time off for overtime pay—an option currently allowed for public employers. Now, some state legislatures are taking up the cause.

Old pay cut may be basis for new pay-bias claim

03/31/2011

It’s important to regularly review your records of evidence of past discrimination. If an employee now earns less after missing out on past promotions, each new paycheck can support an equal-pay claim under the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act. Now a court has expanded that reasoning to include lower paychecks based on past discriminatory pay cuts.

Are we allowed to offer housing stipends to just some employees?

03/29/2011
Q. Is it legal to offer some employees, but not others, stipends to help with rent or lodging?