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Wages & Hours

Business facing financial difficulties? Don’t let supervisors alter hours worked

09/17/2014
Faced with declining revenues and staff shortages that mean more overtime hours, managers may be tempted to adjust time records to reflect fewer hours worked. But this is a dangerous tactic.

Stillwater, Okla. restaurant adds ‘minimum wage fee’ to checks

09/17/2014
Things are not peaceful at the Oasis Café in Stillwater. When the state’s higher minimum wage took effect on Aug. 1, the restaurant began charging a 35-cent “minimum wage fee” on each order. Restaurant management claims the charge is to highlight the burden the wage hike places on small businesses.

To prove executive exemption, show employee’s ‘direct involvement’ in hiring

09/17/2014

Employees are eligible for overtime pay unless their positions fit into one of several exemption categories, including the executive exemption. But take note: Don’t try to apply the executive exemption label unless the employee is directly involved in hiring and firing or his or her recommendations are seriously considered during the decision-making process.

New York amends Human Rights Law to protect unpaid interns

09/05/2014
On July 22, Gov. Andrew Cuomo signed a bill that amends the New York Human Rights Law by adding a new Section 296-c titled, “Unlawful discriminatory practices relating to interns.”

Ex-intern files class action against Marvel Entertainment

09/05/2014
The new amendment to the New York Human Rights Law adding protections for unpaid interns does not address the status of those interns who claim they should be compensated employees. Those cases appear to be working through the courts on a separate path.

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.