• The HR Specialist - Print Newsletter
  • HR Specialist: Employment Law
  • The HR Weekly

Wages & Hours

Supreme Court starts new term; age-bias case tops slim HR agenda

10/01/2004
The U.S. Supreme Court opens its new session Oct. 4, but so far, employment issues are taking a back seat to cases ranging from juvenile executions to wine trading. Expect the …

No Need to Pay Employee for Home-to-Seminar Drive

10/01/2004

Q. In determining when to pay for travel time, what if an employee drives his own car to a seminar that’s two hours away? Should he get paid for his driving time to and from the seminar, even if he leaves from home and drives straight home afterward? —R.M., North Carolina

Calculating paid ‘On-Call’ time an art, not science

10/01/2004

Q. We have a maintenance employee who we will soon put “on call” for various shifts (occasionally at night) to fix equipment. How should we handle his on-call pay? —E.P., Rhode Island

Base salaries on most accurate surveys; weed out bad data

09/01/2004

Salary surveys are plentiful, but many are poorly designed. The risk: Flawed surveys can hurt your organization’s ability to compete for top people …

Check state rules, not just federal, on OT eligibility

09/01/2004
With all the talk about new federal overtime-eligibility rules, remember this: Some states set their own rules that may contradict federal law. In such cases, you must follow whichever law is …

What will Congress do for (or to) your business for the rest of 2004?

08/01/2004
Don’t expect much action from Congress on employment-related law as its legislative year comes to a close. With election season heating up, members of Congress will want to press the flesh …

Trouble meeting Aug. 23 deadline on overtime rules? You’re not alone

08/01/2004
In April, the Labor Department unveiled new rules that redefine the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) definitions of “exempt employees” (not eligible for overtime) and “nonexempt employees” (eligible for overtime) for …

Exemption Class Doesn’t Matter for Part-Timer

08/01/2004

Q. Does the new salary threshold of $455 a week (under which employees are automatically eligible for overtime) hold true even if the person works part time, say one or two days a week? We have employees who meet the professional exemption, but they work part time and wouldn’t reach the $455 threshold. —L.S., Pennsylvania

Are departed employees eligible for bonuses?

08/01/2004

Q. Our company pays out bonuses in the year after the work is completed, sometimes late into the first quarter. If an employee resigns prior to the bonus payout date (say in January), do we have to pay that employee the bonus? —A.G., South Carolina

Management Lessons From the Court

08/01/2004

Don’t open an employee’s’ personal mail If you know that a letter or package sent to that person at work is personal (not business related). A recent court ruling shows that you may be opening up a legal mess along with the letter …