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Wages & Hours

Remind managers to prevent ‘off-the-clock’ work

03/01/2005
Telecom giant Cingular settled a Labor Department audit last month by paying $5.1 million in back wages to more than 25,000 customer-service reps and agreeing to create a new time-reporting review …

You can exclude vacation pay from ‘Regular rate’

03/01/2005

Q. When we are figuring employees’ base pay for overtime calculations, can we exclude their vacation pay? —R.J.D., South Dakota

The new risks of premature job offers

02/01/2005
Rescinding job offers just got more legally dangerous. As incredible as it sounds, if you pull the rug out from a candidate’s job offer, the person may be able to sue …

Encourage staff volunteerism, but don’t link it to pay, promotion

02/01/2005
Heads up: More employers are heaping legal trouble on themselves by tracking employees’ volunteerism ef-forts and, in some cases, using that information (either directly or indirectly) as a prerequisite for promotions …

Travel Time Is ‘Work Time’ if It Cuts Across Workday

02/01/2005

Q. We hired a new branch manager in a one-person office in another town. Because she earns $19,240 a year, she doesn’t meet the new annual threshold of $23,660 for exempt status, correct? Several times a year, she escorts trips involving overnight stays. While she’s out, she forwards her calls to the host office and closes her doors. How do we compensate her? Am I right that she has to be considered "hourly"? And how do we compensate for the overnight and travel time? —K.H., Kansas

Beware time clock ’rounding’ errors; push for an upgrade

02/01/2005
Issue: The legal and financial hazards of an improperly programmed time clock.
Risk: Thousands in back pay and government penalties, in addition to unwanted publicity.
Action: Audit your timekeeping …

Check state law before deducting cost of lost tools

02/01/2005

Q. We want to start a policy that would deduct the cost of tools from employees’ final paychecks if the tools aren’t returned or if they’re returned damaged. Can we legally do this? —M.P., Kansas

Employ teens? See new list of ‘too dangerous’ jobs

02/01/2005
The U.S. Labor Department unveiled new limits on the type of responsibilities you can give teen employees in certain industries. The key changes, which take effect Feb. 14: new limits on …

Beware of costly time-clock ’rounding’

01/01/2005
If your organization uses a time clock, you probably haven’t thought about whether it’s programmed accurately. But a seemingly small hiccup in “rounding” hourly employees’ work time could cost big bucks. …

No need to accommodate those who want to work overtime

01/01/2005
You’re required to reasonably accommodate employees when their religious practices conflict with their job requirements. But what if an employee asks for an accommodation just so he can work overtime? Must …