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Wages & Hours

Restaurant owes back wages; owners wrangle over who pays

10/28/2008

Las Limas restaurant in Angola has been ordered to pay 20 workers roughly $40,000 in back wages for numerous wage violations. A two-year investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor found that kitchen staff were improperly paid on a salary basis and denied overtime.

Downtime: When to Pay for Meal and Rest Breaks

10/28/2008

It’s a deceptively simple concept: You have to pay nonexempt employees for every hour they work. But employers often trip over interpretation of that law when it comes to exceptions such as meal and rest breaks. Here’s a plain-English explanation of a sometimes tricky situation. PLUS! Find out what workers are really doing on their coffee breaks!

Resolve to fix classification mistakes now

10/27/2008

Few HR mistakes can blow up faster than the simple misclassification of a nonexempt employee. A single FLSA classification error can easily become an attorney’s meal ticket, as well as an employer’s ticket to the poorhouse. Prevent this costly calamity by regularly reviewing your positions to make sure you have properly classified everyone.

Rutgers poli-sci department is old school, women claim

10/27/2008

Five female faculty members at Rutgers University in New Brunswick have filed a complaint with the state Attorney General’s Office, alleging bias in pay and decision-making in the Political Science Department.

Beware bigger penalties for wage-and-hour claims under N.J. whistle-blower law

10/27/2008

Employees and their lawyers are always looking for more ways to wring money out of employers that make mistakes. The latest trend in wage-and-hour cases, for example, is to file an FLSA lawsuit and then seek to collect additional damages by tacking on additional claims under New Jersey’s Conscientious Employee Protection Act. Here’s how …

State employee benefits cut

10/27/2008

Gov. Jon Corzine signed into law a new benefits package for state employees that raised the retirement age from 60 to 62 and increased the minimum salary workers must earn before being eligible for pension benefits. Now state government employees must earn at least $7,500 per year to qualify for a pension. The previous minimum was $500.

Pay and benefits concessions keep paper from folding

10/27/2008

Wage freezes and other employee concessions negotiated in October brought New Jersey’s largest newspaper, Newark’s The Star-Ledger, back from the brink of a sale or possible bankruptcy.

Employees may sue for alleged pay promises

10/22/2008

You may not have to pay employees for every task they perform while getting ready to start their shifts. But if those employees can prove you told them they would be paid for that time, you may be liable.

Pa. law allows OT class actions that federal FLSA doesn’t

10/22/2008

Pennsylvania quickly became a go-to state for class-action lawyers after retail giant Wal-Mart lost a big case here last year. Don’t be vulnerable to high-dollar claims—have your attorney review your wage-and-hour rules now to avoid getting slammed by a class-action suit.

Time Off to Vote: State-by-State Voting Leave Laws Explained

10/21/2008

All indicators point to record voter turnout on Election Day, Nov. 4. Chances are, some (if not all) of your employees will want to take part of the day off to cast their ballots. No federal law requires employers to grant voting leave, but most states have laws that do. Here’s a state-by-state rundown of those laws to help you comply.