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Wages & Hours

New IRS ruling differentiates between tips, service charges

11/28/2012
Regardless of what you call it, tips are amounts customers willingly determine and leave of their own accord; service charges are added to the bill. According to a new IRS revenue ruling, service charges are immediately taxable as wages; tips are taxable when employees report them to you.

Should we be paying overtime to employee who receives after-hours phone calls?

11/16/2012

Q. One of our office managers regularly receives after-hours calls from our landlord about building management issues. Are we required to pay her overtime compensation for the resulting hours she works over eight in one day or over 40 in one week?

Courts: Truckers’ breaks covered by federal–not California–law

11/16/2012
In a significant decision for transportation companies operating in California, a federal district court judge recently dismissed several class-action claims brought by truck drivers who alleged meal and rest break violations under California law.

What break time rules do we need to follow?

11/15/2012

Q. We are changing our break policy. What breaks are required and can I require employees to take an unpaid meal break?

Do holidays require extra pay?

11/13/2012
Q. We need some of our employees to work during the holidays. Are we required to pay them extra for those days?

DOL sues Houston emergency medical services companies

11/13/2012
The DOL has filed a lawsuit against three Houston-based ambulance companies—Pride EMS, Allyn Medical EMS and North Cypress EMS—and their common owners, seeking an injunction for alleged Fair Labor Standards Act violations.

Pay-for-performance raises to dominate 2013

11/12/2012

This year’s merit increases will hover around 3%, according to a survey of 270 large multinational companies by compensation consulting firm Empsight Inter­na­tional. Say farewell to across-the-board pay hikes and years-of-service bumps. Instead, look for renewed emphasis on raises linked to meeting or beating organizational goals. Here are the compensation trends to watch in 2013.

El Nacho Grande chain faces wage-and-hour lawsuit

11/09/2012
The El Nacho Grande chain, with restaurants in Cincinnati and Dayton, faces a U.S. Department of Labor lawsuit after investigators found evidence that the company’s pay policies violate the Fair Labor Standards Act.

Holiday pay, work and hiring: The key rules you must follow

11/02/2012
The Fair Labor Standards Act and the IRS can throw kinks into your holiday plans. Watch out for these lumps of coal: four rules on holiday pay, two rules for holiday work, requirements for holiday hiring.

U.S. DOL launches probe of Southland garment industry

10/22/2012

The DOL’s Wage and Hour Division (WHD) has begun a multiyear enforcement initiative that could result in sanctions against Los Angeles and Orange County employers in the garment industry. According to the WHD, the garment industry consistently violates federal wage-and-hour laws.