FLSA

HR Specialist Editors Bring You the Best from SHRM Chicago

06/24/2008

For a week each year, the Society for Human Resource Management’s Annual Conference becomes the center of the HR world. HR Specialist editors have joined 13,000 of our peers in Chicago this week for four days of professional development covering HR’s hottest topics and presented by the profession’s leading experts. Here’s some of the best from the world’s biggest HR conference.

The ins and outs of employing minors

06/17/2008

Q. Now that summer is here, we have received applications from students under the age of 18 seeking seasonal employment with our company. Are there any requirements or restrictions that we need to be aware of before we hire a minor? …

Paying for steward’s time spent on the grievance process

06/12/2008

Q. We have a problem with the union steward in our plant. He seems to think that his primary responsibility is working for the union, and that his job is secondary. He spends an inordinate amount of time filing and working on grievances. Are we required to pay an employee who is the union steward for time spent on union activities? …

Compulsory call-Out doesn’t automatically mean paid wait time

06/11/2008

Some industries are prone to emergencies that suddenly increase the workload. And some companies insist that all employees be available by phone or other means at least part of the time. That doesn’t mean, however, that those subject to a mandatory call-out must be paid for the time they spend waiting for a call …

Must we pay for unapproved overtime?

06/11/2008

Q. Our company requires employees to obtain their supervisors’ prior approval for all overtime. Our management takes the position that it does not need to pay overtime if employees don’t get approval first. My understanding is that all hours worked must be paid. Which is correct? …

Minnesota Supreme Court clarifies employer penalties

06/10/2008

The Supreme Court of Minnesota has issued a decision clarifying penalties under the Minnesota Fair Labor Standards Act (MFLSA). The ruling makes it clear that employers that don’t follow the law and don’t maintain the required wage-and-hour records may face large fines payable to the state …

No unjust enrichment claims allowed in state and federal FLSA cases

06/10/2008

Sometimes, attorneys representing disgruntled employees will try anything to make the charges stick. Now the federal district court in Minnesota has ruled that plaintiffs can’t add state unjust enrichment claims to standard overtime claims under the federal FLSA and Minnesota’s similar state law …

Hourly pay for highly paid workers

06/03/2008

Q. We want to hire certain highly paid workers at an hourly rate, but we don’t want to pay overtime at time and a half. These workers would perform exempt duties for purposes of the Fair Labor Standards Act. What are our options? …

Instruct supervisors to prohibit working off the clock

05/30/2008

A Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) overtime claim is one of the most dangerous lawsuits employers can face. If one or two employees claim they worked off the clock before or after punching the time clock, their attorneys may try to represent every employee companywide who did the same thing …

Seasonal employees and overtime pay