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Wages & Hours

Equal pay: Document how and why jobs differ

07/11/2019
The Equal Pay Act requires employers to pay members of each sex the same for performing work that is substantially the same. The only way for an employer to defend an EPA lawsuit is to prove that the jobs aren’t substantially similar—or that the pay difference is attributable to some factor other than sex.

Fresno plumbing company settles in DOL overtime case

07/02/2019
Following an investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division, M&L Plumbing has agreed to pay $113,351 in back pay. The DOL found that the company owed 39 employees the money for unpaid overtime.

Farm labor contractor pays for seasonal worker violations

07/02/2019
J. Carmen Mora, a Northern California farm labor contractor, has paid $166,126 after a U.S. Department of Labor investigation found multiple violations of wage-and-hour rules.

Must we pay this summer intern?

07/02/2019
Q. We are short-handed this summer and it’s really hard to get employees right now. We want to offer an internship to a college student to help us out. She would gain experience and if she can work it out with her advisor, maybe she can get college credit. Do we have to pay her?

Flex time provides recruiting edge for 61% of employers

06/25/2019
A survey of 150 HR professionals found that 61% offer some sort of flexible work option to attract talent.

Recent grads may need to adjust salary expectations

06/18/2019
Have you started interviewing newly minted graduates from the Class of 2019? Get ready for either a rude awakening or a good laugh.

Presidential hopefuls picket with advocates for $15 minimum wage

06/18/2019
The Fight for $15 advocacy group that is pushing to raise the minimum wage nationwide picked up some notable support June 15.

Conversations among co-workers can be enough to certify class-action lawsuit

06/13/2019
When an employee claims she wasn’t paid properly under the Fair Labor Standards Act, she can ask the court to represent all other similarly situated workers in a potentially costly class-action suit. It doesn’t take much more than a few casual conversations with co-workers for a single plaintiff to move a class-action lawsuit forward.

Any risk of not reducing demoted worker’s pay?

06/10/2019
Q. We moved a salaried supervisor to a rank-and-file hourly position, but we left him at the higher salary. Now, several co-workers are complaining that they’re being paid less for the same job and grumbling about discrimination. The co-workers are of different nationalities than the former supervisor. Should we raise the co-workers’ salaries if we want to be as cautious as possible to avoid a lawsuit?

Beware wage-and-hour lawsuits that might suddenly turn into class actions

06/10/2019
Here’s another reason to make sure you are carefully following the Fair Labor Standards Act’s overtime rules: Just one disgruntled and allegedly underpaid employee can file a class-action lawsuit and get the court to authorize contacting all other similarly situated workers to join in as plaintiffs.