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Wages & Hours

The HR I.Q. Test: November ’10

11/05/2010
Test your knowledge of recent trends in employment law, comp & benefits and other HR issues with our monthly mini-quiz …

5th Cir. Court of Appeals rejects DOL interpretation of guest worker minimum-wage requirement

11/01/2010
In a sign that some courts are flexing their muscles and resisting attempts by the U.S. Department of Labor to crack down on employers, the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals has rejected an effort to force employers to cover more guest worker costs.

Raises averaging 2.5%, forecast at 3.0% in 2011

11/01/2010
Raises for low performers are averaging 0.7% in 2010, while high performers are pulling in average raises of 3.7%, says a new WorldatWork survey of 2,500 employers. The survey forecasts higher raises in 2011.

3rd Circuit: Ledbetter Fair Pay Act doesn’t apply to failure-to-promote cases

10/29/2010
Here’s a bit of good news for employers worried about lawsuits that may crop up years after a faulty employment decision was made. The 3rd Circuit Court of Appeals has refused to expand the impact of the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act, which says that each paycheck that is lower than it should be because of a past discriminatory act can be the basis of a new lawsuit.

Fish farms net win in court: They’re not on the hook for FLSA overtime

10/26/2010

By law, the FLSA doesn’t apply to fishing activities when the work takes place on the water. However, the FLSA does cover work at fish-processing plants. That means that employees on fishing boats aren’t required to be paid overtime, while those who packaged the catch on land must. But what about fish farms?

4 steps for implementing a variable pay program

10/26/2010
Making variable pay work requires lots of interaction throughout the organization before, during and after implementation. As the business unit most likely in charge of implementation, it’s up to HR to make sure that happens. Here’s how to do it.

State-by-State Guide to Voting Leave Laws

10/26/2010

When polls open nationwide next Tuesday for the 2010 mid-term elections, chances are, some of your employees will want to take part of the day off to cast their ballots. Must you let them? In most states, yes. Here’s our state-by-state guide to voting leave laws.

Jury duty for a week: Must we pay exempt worker?

10/21/2010
Q. One of our salaried employees was picked for a grand jury. She’ll be away about one week per month. Do we have to pay her during jury duty? She will be checking in via BlackBerry daily.

Court serves up good news for firm sued for waiters’ tip snafu

10/15/2010

A three-judge panel of the California Court of Appeal for the 2nd Appellate District has upheld a lower court’s decision to dismiss a lawsuit against an accounting firm working for a celebrity-owned restaurant. The court held that the firm, Gumbiner Savett, can’t be accused of negligence for allegedly overreporting the incomes of servers who were forced to pool tips while working for Ago Restaurant.

Meal break rule doesn’t apply to public employees

10/15/2010
California Labor Code provisions specifying when and where employees should take their meals don’t apply to public employees, only to private-sector employees.