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Wages & Hours

$2.6 million lawsuit could clean out L.A. car wash

02/22/2010

As part of a wider crackdown on companies that violate worker protection laws, California Attorney General Edmund G. Brown Jr. filed a lawsuit alleging that a Los Angeles car wash, Auto Spa Express, failed to pay minimum wage and overtime to its employees and denied them workers’ compensation benefits.

Must we pay for unauthorized overtime?

02/22/2010

Q. Without authorization, one of our employees worked extra hours this week, even though we told everyone they needed approval to work overtime. Are we required to pay overtime for the unauthorized hours?

Wisconsin firm reimburses workers for pay cut

02/19/2010

Last summer, engine manufacturer Briggs & Stratton cut its employees’ pay by 10%. In January, it paid most of it back. The Milwaukee-based company reimbursed salaried employees 75% of the pay they lost during the six-month wage reduction. It also restored previously suspended 401(k) contributions.

Workers coming in early to fire up their computers? You must pay them

02/18/2010

If your managers tell employees to show up a little early to start their computers and get ready to work, that time must be compensated. That’s true even if you don’t absolutely demand early arrival, but internal systems make it tough for employees to begin their shifts if they don’t arrive early.

Workers in early to fire up computers? You must pay

02/18/2010

If you ask workers to show up a little early to start their computers and get ready to work, be prepared to pay them for that time or risk getting sued. How to avoid such lawsuits: Design better systems so prep time is minimal—but still paid. Or simply start the actual shift a few minutes after paid time begins.

Check CBA for pay rules on safety gear prep

02/12/2010

Sometimes it’s hard to imagine many advantages of being a union workplace, but here’s a bit of good news: At least in some limited circumstances, working under a collective-bargaining agreement gives employers some protection against FLSA lawsuits that demand payment for time spent putting on and taking off protective gear at the beginning and end of the workday.

Texas employees file FLSA suit against T.J. Maxx

02/12/2010

Employees of T.J. Maxx stores in Texas have filed a class-action suit alleging that the retailer stiffed workers out of regular wages and overtime pay. The lawsuit claims management required workers who exceeded their scheduled hours to work off the clock and told them to use vacation and sick time to cover time worked beyond their scheduled hours.

Isn’t this illegal? I was just ordered to garnish one of my employee’s wages

02/12/2010

Q. We recently received a court order to garnish the wages of an employee who has failed to repay a student loan. I thought that the garnishment of an employee’s wages in Texas was prohibited by law. Is that no longer true?

7 bills to watch: Congress’ 2010 employment law agenda

02/09/2010

When Republican Scott Brown of Massachusetts won January’s special election to fill the seat long occupied by the late Sen. Ted Kennedy, Democrats lost their 60-vote supermajority in the Senate. That means it will be that much more difficult for the Obama administration to make good on many of its pro-employee campaign promises. That’s not to say those employment law initiatives are dead. The following are the key initiatives pending in Congress.

Contractor suing? Don’t plan on quick dismissal

02/09/2010

One more thing to worry about if you use independent contractors: If a contractor sues over unpaid wages and overtime, it’s unlikely a court will dismiss the lawsuit early.