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Wages & Hours

HR Specialist Editors Bring You the Best from SHRM Chicago

06/24/2008
For a week each year, the Society for Human Resource Management’s Annual Conference becomes the center of the HR world. HR Specialist editors have joined 13,000 of our peers in Chicago this week for four days of professional development covering HR’s hottest topics and presented by the profession’s  leading experts. Here’s some of the best from the world’s biggest HR conference.

The ins and outs of employing minors

06/17/2008
Q. Now that summer is here, we have received applications from students under the age of 18 seeking seasonal employment with our company. Are there any requirements or restrictions that we need to be aware of before we hire a minor? …

Michigan ranks first in stress

06/12/2008
Michigan ranked No. 1 for economic stress in a test compiled by the Campaign for America’s Future (CAF). The CAF “Stress Test” assessed the condition of jobs, housing, health care and household costs on a state-by-state basis over the past eight years …

More woes at American Axle

06/12/2008
Less than half of the hourly employees who returned to work following an 87-day strike at American Axle & Manufacturing will have jobs in a year, the company announced. The company also will cut its hourly labor rate, including wages and benefits, by half …

DOL: More employers cutting hours as economy slows

06/12/2008
With business slowing, many employers are choosing to trim employees’ hours rather than completely eliminate jobs … at least so far …

Holding employee’s final paycheck to recoup company property

06/12/2008
Q. Our company has a policy requiring employees who are leaving the company to participate in an exit interview. One of the requirements is to check that the terminated employee has returned all company property, including company manuals, laptop computers, identification badges and similar items. Frequently we don’t get everything back that we should. It has been suggested that we hold the employee’s final paycheck until he or she returns all company property. Do you see any problem with adopting such a policy? …

Audit wages and salaries to identify hidden sex bias

06/11/2008
It doesn’t take much for a sex discrimination complaint to turn into a trial. Sometimes all it takes to start a Title VII sex discrimination and Equal Pay Act lawsuit is hiring a woman to fill a position that had been previously held by men who made more money …

Compulsory call-Out doesn’t automatically mean paid wait time

06/11/2008
Some industries are prone to emergencies that suddenly increase the workload. And some companies insist that all employees be available by phone or other means at least part of the time. That doesn’t mean, however, that those subject to a mandatory call-out must be paid for the time they spend waiting for a call …

Must we pay for unapproved overtime?

06/11/2008
Q. Our company requires employees to obtain their supervisors’ prior approval for all overtime. Our management takes the position that it does not need to pay overtime if employees don’t get approval first. My understanding is that all hours worked must be paid. Which is correct? …

Minnesota Supreme Court clarifies employer penalties

06/10/2008
The Supreme Court of Minnesota has issued a decision clarifying penalties under the Minnesota Fair Labor Standards Act (MFLSA). The ruling makes it clear that employers that don’t follow the law and don’t maintain the required wage-and-hour records may face large fines payable to the state …