FLSA

Wage-and-hour woes continue to plague Silicon Valley

10/20/2008

Cadence Design Systems of San Jose recently agreed to settle two lawsuits brought by information technology workers who claimed they were misclassified and denied overtime and meal and rest breaks in violation of federal and California laws …

Can we require workers to pay for their uniforms?

10/17/2008

Q. We’d like our retail staff to wear uniforms. Can we charge them for the uniforms? …

Big win for Blue Cross as suit fails to become class action

10/14/2008

Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota has won a significant victory in an overtime lawsuit filed by two customer service representatives. A court has denied a petition to elevate the case to class-action status—a decision that could save the insurer millions of dollars if it eventually loses.

Can we deduct pay from exempt employees who have used up PTO and FMLA leave?

10/10/2008

Q. We have an employee who has a degree in accounting and is treated as a salaried, exempt professional employee under the FLSA. He became ill and has used his 12 weeks of FMLA leave. He chose to use the PTO leave concurrent with his FMLA leave. Since he returned, he has missed seven additional days of work. Can the company deduct these missed days from his pay without losing the salaried, exempt status?

Things not to say during government hearings

10/08/2008

Betzy Cowan, who worked for McLean County Clerk Peggy Ann Milton, has filed a complaint with the state Department of Labor (DOL) seeking $3,000 in unpaid overtime. Testifying in a misconduct hearing against Milton last year, Cowan said her boss frequently asked her to shuttle Milton’s children home on county time …

How can we avoid wage-and-hour class action lawsuits?

10/07/2008

Q. I keep hearing about wage-and-hour class actions, where workers claim they were not paid properly because they were misclassified as exempt, not paid for all hours or not paid the correct overtime rate. What can I do to minimize this risk? …

DOL grills tortilla maker, gets agreement on back pay

10/06/2008

De Maiz Tortilleria, a tortilla production company in Pharr, Texas, has agreed to pay $401,314 in back wages to 133 employees following a U.S. Department of Labor investigation looking into allegations it violated the FLSA …

Pay for employee who works through lunch?

10/06/2008

Q. Must we pay a nonexempt employee who voluntarily works through lunch for the time, even though we never requested the extra work? …

Job description should spell out employee’s exempt or hourly status

10/03/2008

There’s no excuse for anyone to be confused about his or her exempt or nonexempt employment status. Make sure every position description clearly labels the job either salaried or hourly. Otherwise, employees will turn to the courts to figure out whether you owe them unpaid overtime or whether you have violated the FLSA …

DOT violated labor laws, inspector general says