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Wages & Hours

AIG hit with overtime lawsuit disputing exempt status

11/01/2007

Two New Jersey claims adjusters for AIG Inc. in New York City have filed a class-action lawsuit against the insurer alleging it improperly classified them as exempt from overtime pay …

Supreme Court’s Ledbetter decision could affect your pay policies

11/01/2007

In May 2007, the U.S. Supreme Court announced its decision in Ledbetter v. Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. Inc., a case that limits the potential liability of employers in wage discrimination claims brought under Title VII. New Jersey employers should bear in mind that Ledbetter was decided under Title VII—the federal statute governing employment discrimination claims. Although New Jersey state courts often look to federal decisions for guidance, it is uncertain how Ledbetter will be applied in a state court action involving the New Jersey Law Against Discrimination …

NCWHA governs employee incentive and bonus plans

11/01/2007

Incentive-pay programs and bonus plans are very common in North Carolina and sometimes constitute a significant portion of an employee’s pay. But if a dispute develops, the employee does not have a claim for breach of an employment contract. Instead, the North Carolina Wage and Hour Act (NCWHA) applies. The application of the NCWHA, which contains notice and nonforfeiture requirements, often takes employers and employees by surprise …

Minimum wage in North Carolina

11/01/2007

Q. What is the minimum wage for North Carolina employees? Is it different than the federal minimum wage? …

Wal-Mart hit for another $62 million in back wages

11/01/2007

You may remember the big employee win against Wal-Mart. A class-action lawsuit under Pennsylvania’s wage-and-hour law made national headlines when the retailer was zapped for allegedly allowing employees to work “off the clock.” Now the news has gotten much worse for the company—$62.3 million worse, to be exact …

Keeping pay info mum may give employees more time to sue

11/01/2007

When the U.S. Supreme Court decided the Ledbetter case in the spring of 2007, employers breathed a collective sigh of relief. It appeared that employees whose current paychecks were smaller because of sex discrimination years ago were barred from suing and instead would have had to file their lawsuits within months of the original discriminatory pay decision. Now it turns out that Ledbetter may not be as simple a decision as it first appeared …

Dock pay as part of discipline?

11/01/2007

Q. Under the Fair Labor Standards Act, may I dock an employee’s pay as a disciplinary penalty? …

Misclassification yields million-Dollar settlement for janitors

11/01/2007

A federal judge recently gave final approval to a settlement of a wage-and-hour lawsuit involving 500 primarily Latino janitors in San Antonio, Dallas and Chicago. Judge Amy St. Eve of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois approved a $1,138,000 settlement compensating workers who were employed through Contract Cleaning Maintenance Inc. …

FLSA governs employment of minors

11/01/2007

Q. My company often receives applications in the summer months from teens looking for temporary jobs. Are there any requirements that I should be aware of before hiring a minor?—J.S. …

HR Professionals: How Much Are You Really Worth?

10/30/2007

Are you overpaid, underpaid or in the right ballpark? A new survey of 88,000 HR professionals provides average compensation levels for dozens of HR positions. Plus, it highlights an important trend–incentive compensation is growing more common in the HR world.