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FLSA

What are the criteria for unpaid internships?

03/14/2012
Q. We would like to hire a few college interns over the summer, but with our tight budget, I don’t think we can pay them. What rules apply to unpaid internships?

Flat rate leads to lump-sum settlement

03/14/2012
A federal court has ordered Roseville-based Aspen Nursing Services to pay more than $210,000 in back wages and liquidated damages to 22 employees in Kentucky and Ohio.

Shocker: Class-action case doesn’t break the bank

03/14/2012
Not every collective or class-action case has to blow up into a multimillion-dollar nightmare. Instead, some judges are approving more modest settlements, if this case is any indication.

Which of these HR issues causes the biggest problems in your organization?

03/13/2012
The day-to-day squabbles of the working world cause the biggest problems for most HR pros.

FLSA retaliation: New DOL fact sheet

03/13/2012
The DOL has a new fact sheet covering illegal retaliation against employees who complain about possible violations of the Fair Labor Standards Act. Reminder: The FLSA’s anti-retaliation pro­vision applies to all employees, not just non­exempts.

Pharma biz: Does anyone make a pill for HR headaches?

03/09/2012
The pharmaceutical industry must have a bull’s-eye on its back, because employees’ attorneys continue to take aim at it, filing class-action lawsuits that allege unfair or illegal pay practices.

Incompetence can’t turn manager into hourly

03/02/2012
Sometimes an employee pro­­moted to management just isn’t ready for new responsibilities. Maybe she’s having a hard time thinking like an exempt employee, longing for the days when she was entitled to breaks and overtime. Fortunately, if you discipline such employees for neglecting their duties, they can’t later claim they actually were hourly employees entitled to overtime.

Beware retaliation claim if you punish employee for filing internal wage-and-hour complaint

02/24/2012
In addition to protecting ­­employees’ wage-and-hour rights, the Fair Labor Standards Act protects employees from retaliation for asserting their pay rights. But until now, it was unclear whether it was protected activity to file an internal report that someone within the organization was violating the FLSA. The 4th Circuit has ruled that it is.

Automatic pay deduction for lunch: Is it legal?

02/22/2012
You don’t have to pay hourly employees for meal breaks of 30 minutes or more, as long as they are completely relieved of their duties during the break. Many employers automatically de­­duct the meal period from time worked. But make sure there’s an easy way for employees who occasionally work through their meal breaks to report the additional paid time.

Even after Walmart, some class-actions are legit

02/15/2012
Last year, the U.S. Supreme Court dismissed a class-action sex discrimination claim brought by thousands of female Walmart employees. Now the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals has clarified how far the decision goes in class-action wage-and-hour cases.