FLSA

Does your organization use volunteers or interns? Know the employment law implications

05/28/2008

This is the time of year when college students start serving summer internships. Often, students offer to work without pay just to get the experience. But does this influx of possible free labor carry hidden risks? Perhaps …

Tyson Foods beset by another overtime lawsuit

05/27/2008

Roughly 600 workers at the Tyson Foods meat processing facility in Logansport have filed suit seeking compensation for time they spent preparing for shifts and cleaning up afterward. The lawsuit is the latest in a string of “donning and doffing” overtime suits against Tyson and others in the meatpacking industry over what constitutes “compensable” activities …

Misclassifying employees an expensive mistake for Madison firm

05/27/2008

Madison-based Quest Diagnostics has agreed to pay more than $688,772 in back overtime wages to 238 employees following a U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) investigation. The DOL found that Quest misclassified as exempt the systems analysts working at all of the company’s facilities …

Burden on employer to justify exempt/Nonexempt classification

05/16/2008

When deciding on whether an employee is exempt or hourly, be prepared to justify why you classified an employee into the category you did. If you have any doubts about classification, seek out professional help. Getting it wrong can get very expensive, especially if you have incorrectly classified an entire group, and a court allows a class- or collective-action claim …

Federal minimum wage takes another 70-Cent jump in July—Rising to $6.55

05/15/2008

On July 24, the federal minimum wage will take the second step in the three-step increase that Congress approved last year. The wage floor will rise from its current $5.85 per hour to $6.55 per hour …

Court clears up confusion over meal breaks

05/13/2008

Do you have to provide employees who work eight hours or more during a shift with an unpaid meal break away from all job responsibilities? Or can you continue to pay employees while they eat, expecting them to take calls or respond to work needs? …

Here’s a tip: Know law on paying employees who work for tips

05/12/2008

Hundreds of thousands of Floridians rely on tips for part of their incomes. To stay on the right side of wage-and-hour laws, their employers need to understand the somewhat tricky interplay of tip income and the minimum wage …

Enforce overtime approval policies—But pay for all hours worked

05/09/2008

Q. Our company policy requires an employee’s supervisor to approve all overtime. However it’s common for employees to work overtime that has not been approved; time they then record on their time sheets. Since the overtime was never approved, our management takes the position that it does not need to pay for this overtime. My understanding is that all hours worked must be paid. Which is correct? …

Ensure FLSA exemption is for actual job—Not theoretical one

05/06/2008

When it comes to the Fair Labor Standards Act, employers can’t afford to make classification mistakes. Only exempt employees lose out on overtime when they work more than 40 hours per week. The U.S. Department of Labor—and courts—strictly interpret what constitutes exempt work and what does not …

DOL files back-Wage suit against Aggregate Industries