Wages & Hours

The un-COLA: In some states, no inflation leaves a bitter taste in workers’ mouths

10/20/2009

Several states peg the minimum wage to the cost of living. For decades, inflation has meant cost-of-living adjustments (COLAs) that delivered regular pay raises. But what’s happening now that the cost of living has declined 1.3% so far this year?

Your compensation & benefits questions answered

10/20/2009

Here’s a roundup of timely questions posed by readers of HR Specialist’s Compensation & Benefits newsletter. You’ll find answers on such hot topics as health insurance opt-out bonuses, differing pay structures for similar work, unemployment benefits for furloughed workers and paying for travel time.

Use a shared tip jar? You must divide the money by shift

10/15/2009

If your counter service employees share tips customers leave in a tip jar, how you divvy up the money is important. A new case makes it clear that those tips must be counted at the end of each shift and shared among the employees who worked that shift.

Get legal advice when union tries to organize

10/13/2009

If you hear rumors that employees are talking about unionizing, call your attorney right away—and definitely before making any changes in the workplace. Otherwise, you may end up in court, fighting unfair labor practices charges.

Regularly review exempt status to avoid FLSA ‘job creep’

10/13/2009

Employees who don’t fit into one of the Fair Labor Standards Act’s exemption categories are entitled to overtime pay. Their job titles don’t matter. What counts are actual job duties. Those duties, of course, change over time. That’s why it’s important to review exempt status regularly—ideally, every time you update a job description.

Home health aide who challenged FLSA exemption dies

10/09/2009

Evelyn Coke, the Queens home health care aide who took her fight against U.S. Department of Labor overtime regulations all the way to the Supreme Court, has died at age 74.

Do you round off employee hours? Be sure to round both up and down

10/05/2009

Employers that round off the time on employees’ time sheets must do so in a way that doesn’t cheat hourly employees out of pay in the long run. That means that if you round down, you must also round up. Otherwise, your time records won’t reflect all hours worked, leading to potential violations of overtime and other wage-and-hour laws.

DOL investigation reveals OT violations in San Angelo

10/05/2009

On Sept. 4, the U.S. Department of Labor announced that a San Angelo geological services company has paid $270,950 in overtime back wages to 70 current and former employees. According to Cynthia Watson, the Wage and Hour Division’s Southwest regional administrator, “Some employees worked as many as 85 hours in a workweek without receiving overtime wages.”

What’s the required timing for final paychecks?

10/02/2009

Q. What are the deadlines for paying employees who are terminated or resign from employment?

Is it OK to withhold money from employees’ final paychecks to ensure we’re reimbursed?