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Wages & Hours

Can we discipline late worker by cutting her pay?

09/23/2010
Q. One of our hourly employees ($15 per hour) arrives late way too often. We’d like her to get here on time so we’re considering cutting her hourly rate when she arrives late. For example, if she arrives an hour late, we would not pay her for the hour and cut her pay to minimum wage for the rest of the day. Can we do that?

If a resigning employee gives two weeks’ notice, can we tell him not to bother coming in anymore?

09/22/2010
Q. If an employee resigns and gives two weeks’ notice, can we tell him he isn’t needed for the two weeks and avoid paying him for that time?

Bill would double rewards for minimum wage lawsuits

09/22/2010

California employees who sue their employers for minimum wage violations and win will be able to collect twice as much if a recently passed bill becomes law. A.B. 1881 would amend the California Labor Code to allow employees to sue for twice the amount they were underpaid, plus interest.

No private right to sue for tip violations

09/22/2010
The California Supreme Court has ruled that employees don’t have a private right to sue their employers for alleged tip violations.

Timeshare company to pay $868,000 in back wages

09/21/2010
Orlando-based Central Florida Investments will pay $868,443 in back pay and overtime to 1,065 employees to settle a complaint filed with the Wage and Hour Division of the U.S. Department of Labor.

How will Illinois’ wage law change next year?

09/16/2010
Q. How are employees affected by the amendment to the Illinois Wage Payment and Collection Act?

Docking exempt worker for single day: Is it legal?

09/16/2010
Q. We require exempt employees who miss a full day for any reason to use either a sick day, personal day or vacation day in order to get paid for the full week. Is this appropriate? Is it permissible to pay them for less than a full week of work if they have used all of their paid leave time and still miss a full day of work?

Employees change clothes at work? Heed new pay rules

09/15/2010
The U.S. Department of Labor has issued a new interpretation letter that says time spent changing in and out of “protective clothing” (e.g., helmets, smocks, aprons, gloves, etc.) is considered paid time. Find more details and a link to the DOL letter at www.theHRSpecialist.com/clothing.

The HR I.Q. Test: September ’10

09/13/2010
Test your knowledge of recent trends in employment law, comp & benefits and other HR issues with our monthly mini-quiz …

Beware legal risk of raising employee’s title in lieu of pay

09/09/2010

With nervous employers still keeping generous raises on the shelf, more companies are turning to job title promotions to show their appreciation. The risk: The titles themselves don’t reflect the duties of the position and required expertise, which can cause difficulty separating exempt and non-exempt employees.