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Wages & Hours

Some computer jobs exempt from EPA/FLSA protection

07/01/2007

Because of a quirk in the way the Equal Pay Act and the Fair Labor Standards Act have been amended over the years, female workers classified as exempt computer professionals under the FLSA can’t sue their employers for EPA violations …

‘Spiffs’ don’t count when establishing overtime exemption

07/01/2007

If you have an incentive system in which employees who sell a particular item get an additional set payment—commonly called a “spiff”—on top of other payments for selling the item, you can’t count the spiff as part of the commission …

You don’t necessarily have to pay for pre-Work activities

07/01/2007

Employers have struggled to figure out exactly when they must pay employees for pre-work activities ever since the U. S. Supreme Court decided that the Fair Labor Standards Act requires paying workers for the time they spend putting on protective clothing. It’s not enough to say that the time must be of benefit to the employer …

Count only hours actually worked for eligibility

07/01/2007

Do you have special incentive programs to make weekend work attractive to employees? If your program pays workers “credit hours” for time not actually worked, you don’t have to include those hours toward FMLA eligibility …

Align comp & benefits with phased-Retirement options

07/01/2007

The Pension Protection Act of 2006 allows employers to pay pension benefits to employees age 62 and older who are covered under a defined-benefit pension plan even if they continue to work. The change makes phased retirement a viable option for employers who want to keep their mature, experienced workers …

Longer shifts allow employees an extra day off every 2 weeks

07/01/2007

Most employees cherish their occasional three-day weekends, but for production employees at Milwaukee-based Quad/Graphics, it’s the norm. The company runs 24 hours a day, seven days a week, and the 8,000 production employees work a 46-hour week. Working 12-hour shifts, they alternate between three days on/four days off and four days on/three days off …

Court: Basing pay on past salary may spark Equal Pay Act lawsuits

06/20/2007

A surprising new court ruling says that if your organization uses a common pay practice—setting new hires’ salaries based on their past pay—you could be violating the Equal Pay Act …

Supreme Court affirms that FLSA doesn’t apply to all employees

06/12/2007

A Supreme Court case narrowly focused on FLSA protections for home health care workers may signal a broader trend worth watching. Is a conservative high court now more inclined to defer to federal agency interpretations of the law even when those interpretations limit employee rights? A new EEOC age discrimination case that could reach the Supreme Court might tell the tale.

Survey: Men Upset About Female Co-Workers’ Flex Time

06/01/2007

Remind managers that approvals for flex-time requests should be gender-neutral. A new Adecco survey shows that men believe that moms at their workplace are given special treatment when it comes to flex time …

Equal-Pay Bills Defined by ‘Work of Comparable Value’

06/01/2007

Michigan Democrats are pushing several bills aimed at closing the earnings gap between women and men. House Bills 4625-4627 and Senate Bill 417 would broaden anti-discrimination laws to require equal pay for “work of comparable value”…