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Wages & Hours

Hugo Boss sews up deal to close suburban Cleveland plant

03/09/2010

German high-end clothing maker Hugo Boss has decided to close its factory in suburban Cleveland, even though the plant is profitable. Hugo Boss joins a decades-long exodus of textile and clothing manufacturers that have left the United States in favor of countries where they can pay workers less.

Exotic dancers to bosses: Hands off our tips!

03/04/2010

Exotic dancers at the Penthouse Executive Club in New York City’s Hell’s Kitchen neighborhood are suing in Manhattan federal court, claiming their bosses have been raiding the tip box, pilfering money that rightfully belongs to the dancers. They allege the owners sometimes took so much money that some dancers’ pay fell below the minimum wage.

New contract: Pay up, insurance costs down for AT&T employees

03/01/2010

The Communication Workers of America union has inked a new collective-bargaining agreement with AT&T, bringing 9% pay increases over three years to some 35,000 phone company employees in the Southeast.

Can we put attendance conditions on whether we will pay for paid holidays?

03/01/2010

Q. Our production manager heard that employers don’t have to pay holiday pay if an employee is absent the workday immediately before or after the paid holiday. Is this true?

What to do about late time sheets?

03/01/2010

Q. One of our field technicians is consistently late in providing her time sheets. This interferes with promptly billing our customers for work performed. Can we delay paying this employee as an incentive to submit her time sheets on time?

Hiring work-release prisoners? Some aren’t covered by FLSA’s pay, overtime rules

03/01/2010

If you’re considering hiring inmates through a work-release program, carefully weigh whether you will have to pay them as regular employees under the FLSA, or whether you may be able to pay them less. According to a recent 5th Circuit decision, prisoners specifically sentenced to hard labor may not be covered by the FLSA. Their employers may pay them less than minimum wage, and they’re not eligible for overtime pay.

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.