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Wages & Hours

Employee or volunteer? It matters in workers’ comp

02/01/2007

If your organization pays someone a small amount to perform extra tasks around your workplace, are they technically “employees”? Maybe … and that means you may be on the hook for workers’ compensation benefits if the person is hurt on the premises …

Funeral home company sued over wages, bias, harassment

02/01/2007

One of the world’s largest funeral home companies faces a class-action lawsuit by up to 6,000 current and former employees for failure to pay back wages and overtime of between $40 and $70 million …

If you benefit from volunteer labor, prepare to pay for it

02/01/2007

Nonprofits and employers in highly competitive fields often use volunteers to ease labor budgets and try out employees “before they buy.” But unless you structure those situations just right, you’re likely to run afoul of the Fair Labor Standards Act and the New York Minimum Wage Act …

Check cashing ‘convenience fee’ is an illegal deduction under state wage law

02/01/2007

If you force an employee to pay a fee to cash his paycheck, you’re violating the paycheck-deduction provisions of the New York Labor Law …

Advocates urge Spitzer to get tough on labor-law violators

02/01/2007

Immigrant advocacy groups banded together recently to urge Gov.-elect Eliot Spitzer to encourage the state’s Labor Department to pursue labor violations against whole industries in addition to individual companies …

Lessons from Wal-Mart’s employment-law missteps

02/01/2007

Wal-Mart bashing may be the new spectator sport in America, but the nation’s largest retailer is slowly learning some important lessons from a series of legal setbacks involving time and attendance records and managers’ misguided efforts at cost control …

North Carolina Minimum Wage Law

02/01/2007

North Carolina’s minimum wage is $6.15 per hour, compared to the current federal minimum wage of $5.85 per hour. However, barring action by the state legislature, the federal minimum wage will overtake North Carolina’s minimum wage next year …

North Carolina Wage Payment and Collection Act

02/01/2007

The North Carolina Wage Payment and Collection Act seems like it should be rather simple, but it’s perhaps the most complicated employment law in the state. Full of traps for the unwary, the law can spell big trouble for even innocent mistakes. The law covers all North Carolina private employers, even those with only one employee, and requires employers to pay their employees monthly …

North Carolina Child Labor Law

02/01/2007

Generally, in North Carolina children under 18 years of age may not work between 11 pm and 5 am on nights prior to a school day. However, youth ages 16 and older can work during those hours provided they have written permission from their parent/guardian and the school principal …

Local Ordinances in North Carolina

02/01/2007

Local governments in North Carolina sometimes legislate their own rules for employers within their jurisdictions. For example, Durham County and the city of Durham have living-wage laws stipulating higher pay than the state minimum wage ($6.15 per hour) while Orange County has its own human rights ordinance …