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Wages & Hours

Set equitable system for assigning overtime–it’s an essential defense against bias claims

05/28/2010
Do you have a system that allows all employees in the same job category an equal shot at earning overtime pay? If not, consider setting up a fair system for distributing that extra work. Otherwise, you may find yourself facing a discrimination lawsuit.

Time clocks: What’s the law on rounding up, down?

05/28/2010
Q. Our time-clock software allows for a five-minute grace period at the start and end of each shift. For example, if the employee’s designated start time is 8:00 a.m. and the employee clocks in at either 7:56 a.m. or 8:04 a.m., the actual start time will be logged as 8:00 a.m. for pay purposes. Is this OK?

High salaries raise eyebrows in Tacoma, Wash.

05/27/2010

Pierce County, Wash., officials say they’re just trying to stave off private-sector competition for county employees by paying 12% of its workers more than $100,000 a year. That explanation isn’t sitting well with some citizens. The local newspaper recently revealed that the number of employees earning six figures jumped 70% last year. That created backlash from taxpayers and some local officials.

Is it legal to dock pay for break tardiness?

05/26/2010
Q. We give employees the choice of using two 10-minute breaks each day or combining them into one 20-minute lunch break. The employees are required to punch out and in for these breaks. We also have a policy that docks employees 15 minutes if they’re four or more minutes late returning from a break. Is this legal?

Raceway Petroleum to pay $4 million in back wages

05/26/2010
The DOL’s Wage and Hour Division has obtained a $3.9 million judgment against Raceway Petroleum. The money will compensate 700 current and former employees whose wages were affected by Raceway’s violations of the Fair Labor Standards Act. Raceway’s owner will pay a $100,000 fine in addition to the wages.

Court: Pay worker for post-shift security check

05/25/2010
Best Buy recently agreed to a $902,000 class-action settlement that resolves claims that the company didn’t pay workers in New York stores for minutes spent going through security check lines at the end of their shifts.

What documentation do we need to hire minors as seasonal employees?

05/24/2010
Q. We would like to hire several high school students to work in our retail store for the summer. Do we need to take any extra steps in our hiring process if we want to employ minors?

Duplicate systems led to OT shortages, university worker says

05/24/2010

An enrollment counselor is suing the online University of Phoenix for unpaid overtime, and wants to expand her lawsuit to include everyone else who worked as enrollment counselors in California over the past three years. Diane Adoma claims the university deliberately underpaid for overtime hours.

Health Net heads to court to fight wage-and-hour lawsuit

05/24/2010
A former customer service rep at Health Net Inc., a nationwide health maintenance organization based in Woodland Hills, is suing the company for requiring off-the-clock work … and she’s trying to turn the Fair Labor Standards Act suit into a class action that could involve hundreds of workers.

Walmart must defend against largest wage-and-hour class action in U.S. history

05/24/2010

Recently, the largest class-action lawsuit in U.S. history was given the go-ahead. Employers nationwide are waiting with bated breath to find out what happens to Walmart. While the exact number of employees who may find themselves part of the lawsuit is still unclear, it could reach well over 1 million women employed or formerly employed at 3,400 Walmart stores across the country.