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FLSA

To cut your risk of FLSA overtime suits, let employees put on uniforms at home

08/12/2010
Here’s a simple risk-reduction measure for employers that require employees to wear uniforms on the job. You can reduce your chances of being on the losing end of a wage-and-hour lawsuit by giving employees the option to suit up at home.

Must we pay workers who have been suspended?

08/06/2010
Q. We recently sent an employee home for not following his supervisor’s instructions. Do we have an obligation to pay him for the full day regardless? How should we handle this situation in the future? Is this considered administrative leave?

Guard against punishing FLSA whistle-blowers

08/02/2010
The Fair Labor Standards Act makes it illegal to punish an employee who reports violations, real or perceived, to the U.S. Department of Labor. If you learn about such a report, don’t punish the messenger. Address the complaint.

DOL’s advice: Think twice before using interns as free labor

07/27/2010

On paper, internships are good for everyone. Interns learn a business and make connections in organizations where they hope to one day get jobs. In turn, businesses pay nearly nothing for work that needs to be done. However, the U.S. Department of Labor recently issued a fact sheet that casts that equation into doubt.

DOL’s Trojan horse: ‘We’re from the DOL and We Can Help’

07/27/2010

The DOL is stepping up efforts to encourage and support certain types of wage-loss claims by low-income workers. Labor Secretary Hilda Solis announced this spring that the department was rolling out its “We Can Help” campaign to address this issue. If you employ relatively low-wage workers, you need to be aware of this program.

How to comply with new lactation break and facility rules

07/23/2010
Hidden deep within the recently enacted health care reform legislation is a provision that garnered neither debate nor controversy in the media or the halls of Congress. The law amends the FLSA to require large employers to provide lactation breaks and facilities for employees who are breastfeeding.

Can we discipline exempt workers for attendance?

07/22/2010
Q. We require all employees to be in by 9 a.m. One of our exempt employees is constantly late. Can we discipline exempt employees for poor attendance?

How much can tip credits offset our minimum wage obligations?

07/20/2010
Q. We have always paid our waiters less than the minimum wage because of the tips they earn. Are we permitted to count tips as part of the minimum wage as long as we notify our employees of this practice and their actual tips equal or exceed the tip credit?

$4.2 million settlement in parking lot wage case

07/20/2010
Chicago-based Standard Parking Corp. recently settled a wage-and-hour lawsuit brought by current and former California parking attendants, valets and cashiers. The company will pay more than $4 million to some 7,100 employees.

Privacy concern: Are ‘group’ time sheets legal?

07/19/2010
Q. Currently, we require each individual employee to fill out his or her own time sheet. But we’re considering a new format that lists all employees on one time sheet. Is this legal? Or should each employee’s time sheet be kept confidential?