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Wages & Hours

FLSA overtime rules don’t apply to truly small and local businesses

09/05/2014
Some very small employers are truly so tiny that they’re not covered by Fair Labor Standards Act overtime rules.

How should we handle wage overpayment?

09/02/2014
Q. We recently overpaid an employee by $3,500 but the discrepancy was not discovered until six months later. Can we automatically and legitimately withhold those wages from his paycheck? Also, would it be inappropriate to dock additional wages for the employee not making us aware of the mistake?

OT scheme legal under federal law, not under Pennsylvania’s

09/02/2014
A federal judge has ruled that Radio Shack owes overtime to its salaried employees even though the overtime calculation method the company uses is legal under federal law. Radio Shack uses the fluctuating workweek method to figure overtime when worker hours vary week to week.

Never retaliate for wage complaint–unless you’re prepared to pay big bucks!

09/02/2014

If you “shoot the messenger” and punish an employee who points out your wage-and-hour mistakes, a judge just may smack you back with a huge monetary penalty. That’s what appears to have happened in a recent Texas case.

LinkedIn’s $6 million payout offers lessons on tracking time

09/02/2014
The company apparently has failed to connect with the Department of Labor’s rules on what constitutes an exempt employee under the FLSA.

Calculating OT: What counts as a ‘workweek’?

09/01/2014
Employment lawsuits often hinge on a definition: What is an “employee”? What is “work”? And, in this case, what is a “workweek”?

If fired employee was truly awful, do I still have to give him final wages?

08/29/2014
Q. I just fired one of my employees for his constant tardiness. Because it is currently in the middle of a pay period, the employee has some wages due to him. When must I pay him these wages, and am I even required to pay him? I mean, I did fire him for being a terrible employee.

Court OKs PTO for exempt employees’ partial-day absences

08/29/2014
Employers often confuse the strict rules limiting the docking of exempt employees’ salary with different rules relating to partial-day deductions under vacation or paid time off policies.

Former Pink Poodle pole dancers seek back pay

08/29/2014
Eleven former exotic dancers at San Jose’s Pink Poodle strip club are suing, claiming they were misclassified as independent contractors and thus failed to receive minimum wages and overtime pay. Additionally, they claim the misclassification deprived them of health insurance.

In California, raise arbitration issue before administrative hearing on unpaid wages

08/29/2014
If you use an arbitration clause in your application or require employees to arbitrate claims, try to get the case moved to arbitration as soon as possible after the employee files a wage claim with the Cali­­for­­nia Department of Indus­­trial Rela­­tions.