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Wages & Hours

Use greater experience, extra skills to justify why you pay some employees more than others

08/07/2012
Some employees wrongly assume that discrimination must be to blame if someone doing the same work earns more than they do. But even under the Equal Pay Act, employers are allowed to value employees with more highly specific skills and experience.

Deloitte ‘grosses up’ pay to cover tax on domestic benefits

08/03/2012
Deloitte has adjusted the salaries of employees who include domestic partners on their medical or dental plans to help offset the taxes they have to pay on the benefit. The perk is available to employees living with same- or opposite-sex registered domestic partners.

Texas agencies face federal sex discrimination lawsuits

07/31/2012
The U.S. Department of Justice is suing the Texas Department of Agriculture and the Texas General Land Office for alleged pay discrimination at the now-defunct Texas Department of Rural Affairs.

How can we stop the clock on off-the-clock work?

07/30/2012

How can an employer reduce its exposure to claims for off-the-clock work if employees use their own electronic devices for business purposes?

What makes a full-time employee?

07/27/2012
Q. How many hours must employees work to be considered full time? Part time?

Employees switch shifts: Does that potentially increase our overtime liability?

07/27/2012

Q. Are employers required to pay for overtime hours that result when an employee voluntarily switches shifts with a co-worker?

Do tips count as pay for the purpose of calculating an employee’s overtime rate of pay?

07/24/2012
Q. Some of our employees receive tips from cus­­tomers. Do we need to include those tips when we calculate these employees’ rate of pay for purposes of paying them overtime?

No pay? No doubt you will face a lawsuit!

07/24/2012
Never skip a payday. That’s just asking to be sued, as the following case shows.

Hey, we just wanted the lease, not the legal bills!

07/24/2012
Sunset Car Wash had no idea it was about to be cleaned out when it took over the lease from Auto Spa Express. A court has ruled Sunset must pay back wages and penalties owed to Auto Spa’s former em­­ployees.

Does sharing employees equal sharing overtime liability?

07/19/2012
Q: A client has two stores that are separate franchises. Both stores share employees, including the store manager. How can we calculate overtime when an employee works at both stores, and how do we allocate those hours between the stores?