FLSA

Overtime: Steer clear of the comp time trap

08/28/2016

Awarding comp time for extra hours worked is a common strategy that can backfire. The Fair Labor Standards Act lays out strict rules for what basis can be used for awarding comp time and when it’s illegal to give comp time in lieu of cash overtime.

Is it legal to dock nonexempts’ pay if they clock in late after breaks?

08/26/2016

Q. We give employees the choice of using two 10-minute breaks each day or combining them into one 20-minute lunch break. The employees are required to punch out and in for these breaks. Now, we have a policy that docks employees 15 minutes’ pay if they’re four or more minutes late returning from a break. Is this legal?

Harrisburg, Pa., mayor’s bookstore settles overtime complaint

08/26/2016

Harrisburg, Pa., Mayor Eric Papenfuse touted his business experience when running for mayor in 2013, but outdated accounting software may have led him to violate the Fair Labor Standards Act.

Joint employer enforcement snares Philly-area jeweler

08/26/2016

A Melrose Park, Pa., jewelry distributor for several major department stores and the temp agency that provides its workers have agreed to settle allegations that as joint employers they violated the Fair Labor Standards Act.

Reclassifying staff? Beware 7 big pay mistakes

08/25/2016

Starting Dec. 1, the new DOL rules take effect that nearly double the salary threshold at which most salaried workers become exempt from overtime.

California’s San Miguel Homes agrees to $425,000 FLSA settlement

08/22/2016

San Miguel Homes for the Elderly, an assisted-living facility in the Bay Area, has ended its militant opposition to U.S. Department of Labor Wage and Hour Division (WHD) enforcement efforts and agreed to pay $425,000 in back wages to 26 caregivers.

Palm Desert, Calif., buffet settles flat-rate pay claims for $128K

08/22/2016

The owners of Hibachi City Buffet in Palm Desert, Calif., will pay more than $128,000 in back wages and penalties following an investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division.

Guess the employer: DOL settles old OT suit

08/18/2016

The U.S. Department of Labor has reached a settlement in a decade-old overtime lawsuit—against itself. The department agreed Aug. 12 to pay $7 million to several thousand of its own employees.

As 9-to-5 dies, implications for overtime grow

08/15/2016

Today, most people don’t stop working when the clock strikes 5 p.m. What’s this going to mean for how you pay them?

Is comp time in lieu of overtime legal?

08/11/2016

Q. We have a team of nonexempt hourly employees who will soon be putting in significant overtime for an important project. May we compensate them for their overtime work with additional paid vacation time equal to the total accrued overtime?