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Wages & Hours

White-collar OT rule could double salary basis

03/26/2015
When Department of Labor Wage and Hour Division Administrator David Weil keynoted a gathering of top HR pros on March 24, his official comments carefully avoided the much-delayed, anxiously awaited rewrite of the federal rules governing white-collar overtime pay.

Managerial OT revision ‘coming,’ Perez tells House committee

03/24/2015
Almost a year ago, Labor Secretary Thomas Perez said the time was long overdue for a rewrite of the rules governing overtime pay under the Fair Labor Standards Act’s executive, administrative and professional exemptions. Prepare to wait a little longer.

DOL cites Silicon Valley firm that paid $1.21 per hour

03/23/2015
San Jose-based Electronics for Imaging (EFI) will have to pay $40,156 to eight workers it brought in from India. A U.S. Department of Labor Wage and Hour Division investigation found the company required workers to put in as many as 122 hours per week and paid as little as the equivalent of $1.21 per hour in Indian rupees.

Workers can be on-call during rest periods

03/23/2015

Under California law, employees must receive a rest break for every four hours worked and employers may not require employees to work during their breaks. But what about employees who are allowed to take breaks and do what they wish during that time but still have to respond to calls if necessary? In a recent case, security guards asked that question because they had to carry their radios during breaks in case they were suddenly needed.

Survey: High school athletes have higher incomes later

03/20/2015
Adults who were high school athletes tend to have higher incomes, according to a new Harris Interactive poll. Fifteen percent of adults who participated in athletics have personal incomes greater than $100,000, compared to just 9% of those who did not participate.

From salaried to hourly: How do we set his pay?

03/19/2015
Q. We have an employee going from a full-time salaried position to part-time hourly. To set his hourly rate, do we have to divide his salary by 2080 (40 hours per week for a year)?

Pay for required desk time–even if no work is happening

03/12/2015
Gary worked as a clerk at a motel in which he lived. He was required to sit at the front desk for an eight-hour shift, but the motel only paid him for the “busy” time when guests checked in or out. Gary sued, alleging wage-and-hour violations.

May our employees pool their tips?

03/11/2015
Q. The waitstaff in our restaurant pools tips with the dishwashers and hosts. Is this OK?

Do we have to pay overtime for hours an employee spent out on sick leave?

03/11/2015
Q. Last week, an employee was out sick on Monday but worked 40 hours Tuesday through Friday. She would like to use her sick leave for Monday and claim overtime for those Monday hours. Must I pay her overtime for those hours?

Unauthorized OT? Pay up … and then discipline

03/11/2015
Employers must pay hourly employees for all overtime worked, whether it was authorized or not. So what’s the best way to discourage employees from working unauthorized OT?