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Wages & Hours

Must we pay for unauthorized overtime?

03/01/2010

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?

Must we track hours for exempt salespeople?

02/25/2010

Q. We have salespeople who work on a straight commission basis. Do we need to track their hours?

How to apply FLSA’s administrative exemption

02/22/2010

Employers that want to avoid paying overtime to white-collar workers often invoke the Fair Labor Standards Act’s administrative exemption. For the administrative exemption to be legitimate, all of the following must be true:

Don’t try to avoid OT pay by misclassifying technicians as exempt professionals

02/22/2010

If you classify some employees as exempt under the Fair Labor Standards Act’s professional exemption, make sure their jobs truly meet the criteria. Otherwise, you risk a potential wage-and-hour lawsuit for unpaid overtime.

Employees must be free to do as they wish during rest periods, meal breaks

02/22/2010

Under California’s wage-and-hour laws, employees must be completely relieved of their duties during rest periods and meal breaks. Employers can’t count downtime during work hours as rest and meal time.

$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.