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Wages & Hours

Biased pay policies cost school district millions

04/25/2008
A federal jury has awarded $1.2 million to 12 teachers who sued the Elizabeth Forward School District in Allegheny County for age discrimination. The teachers alleged they were hired at the lowest pay scale because they were older women …

How can we recover funds accidentally overpaid to an employee?

04/25/2008
Q. We recently overpaid an employee by $3,000, but we did not discover the discrepancy for six months. Can we automatically and legitimately withhold those wages from the employee’s paycheck? Also, would it be inappropriate to dock additional wages because the employee did not make us aware of the mistake?  …

Handling a worker who clocks in early

04/25/2008

Q. We’ve repeatedly warned a part-time employee about clocking in earlier than he’s supposed to—sometimes more than an hour early. We know that we have to pay him for any hours worked, but what can we legally do to get him to work only the hours set for his position? Also, can we reprimand a co-worker who has been clocking in for him? …

Is comp time legal in lieu of overtime?

04/25/2008
Q. Can our company legally offer comp time instead of overtime? I’ve received conflicting answers. …

Federal minimum wage takes another jump on July 24

04/24/2008
On July 24, the federal minimum wage will take the second step in its three-step increase. The wage floor will rise from its current $5.85 per hour to $6.55 per hour …

One-Quarter admit to giving fake late-To-Work excuses

04/24/2008
According to a new CareerBuilder survey, 24% of employees admit to making up fake excuses to explain their tardiness. When asked for the primary cause for their lateness, employees cite traffic (32%) …

Employers cutting hours as economy slows

04/24/2008
With business slowing, many employers are choosing to trim employees’ hours rather than cut jobs—so far, according to new U.S. Department of Labor stats. Unemployment hasn’t jumped dramatically, but the hours worked by the average private-sector U.S. employee declined in March …

Wachovia sued for back wages

04/23/2008
Carrie Williams, an employee at a Wachovia call center in Alabama, has filed a lawsuit alleging the company failed to pay employees for time spent logging onto computers before taking calls …

Top 10 things to know about North Carolina Wage and Hour Act

04/23/2008
Many employers are familiar with the basic requirements of federal wage-and-hour law—the minimum wage, how to calculate overtime and who must receive it. But the North Carolina Wage and Hour Act is often a mystery to employers and employees alike. Here are the top 10 things you should know about the act …

Prepping for work: How much time do you have to pay for?

04/21/2008
Perhaps no other aspect of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) is more confusing than the so-called “donning and doffing” provisions. Exactly what preliminary preparation before work and cleanup after work should be included in paid time? Fortunately, a recent case helps clarify that employers don’t need to pay workers for many preliminary and post-work activities …