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FLSA

What must we do to accommodate a nursing mother in our workplace?

05/11/2010
Q. One of our employees just returned from maternity leave and is now requesting that we accommodate her need to pump breast milk during the workday. Do we have to make this accommodation?

Can playing softball be working time?

05/08/2010
Question: According to the company grapevine, a couple of managers are pressuring their employees to attend and play on their softball teams at the company’s annual picnic. Would these employees need to be paid for this time?

New DOL rules would add paperwork on every employee

05/04/2010
Get ready for a massive paperwork increase! If the U.S. Department of Labor has its way, employers will soon be required to prepare detailed records on every worker’s FLSA status and pay. Find out about a new program that could reshape the HR function.

Don’t bury FMLA leave taker in catch-up work

05/04/2010

In today’s economic climate, you may be tempted to forgo hiring a temp to fill in for an employee who’s out on FMLA leave. But what will you do if the employee returns to a huge pile of work left undone during her absence? Think twice before you tell her to “catch up or else.”

What is legal discipline for unauthorized overtime?

04/30/2010
Q. I know I can’t refuse to pay an hourly employee who works overtime even though I never authorized it. What I don’t understand is what kind of discipline should I implement? Can I, for example, deny a cost-of-living increase?

Should we pay for employee’s drive from his home to a training seminar?

04/28/2010
Q. What if an employee drives his own car to a seminar that’s two hours away? Should he get paid for his driving time to and from the seminar, even if he leaves from home and drives straight home afterward?

Miami-Dade enacts first county ‘wage theft’ law

04/26/2010
Miami-Dade County last month became the first county in the nation to pass a “wage theft” law—and it likely won’t be the last. The ordinance says a wage-theft violation occurs when an employer fails to pay any portion of wages due to an employee. It allows the county to step in to help workers win back pay.

Even coffee-making may be compensable time

04/19/2010
The little things employees end up doing while getting ready for work can add up to a big overtime bill later. That’s because courts often see such preparatory work, even if it benefits the employee, too, as work that must be compensated. Consider this recent case involving making the morning coffee and breakfast before the start of a shift.

H&R Block settles with California loan officers

04/19/2010
H&R Block will settle a lawsuit brought by former employees who alleged the tax prep company violated federal and California overtime and meal-period regulations.

Kitchen cabinet firm closes door on wage-and-hour suit

04/19/2010
A federal judge in Northern California has granted preliminary approval to a settlement reached between U.S. Remodelers Inc. and 270 current and former workers who sued the company for wage-and-hour violations.