FLSA

Exempt or nonexempt? That depends on actual duties, not title or job description

02/12/2016

Don’t expect a quick ruling when challenged on whether and employee has been properly classified as exempt or nonexempt.

Final OT rule due in July, effective 60 days later

02/01/2016

If you’ve put off planning for the big overtime law changes, it’s time to take action. The final version of the DOL’s revisions to the white-collar exemption rules will be released in July.

Prepare for overtime changes in retail, hospitality industries

01/28/2016

The U.S. Department of Labor’s proposed amendments to the Fair Labor Standards Act will have an enormous impact on employers in the retail and hospitality industries.

HR director can file wage-and-hour complaint

01/15/2016

Generally, employees who complain to their employer that they aren’t being properly paid or classified under the Fair Labor Standards Act are protected from retaliation for those complaints. But what about a manager?

Minimum-wage employers plan to stay that way

01/06/2016

Despite well-publicized moves by retailers such as Walmart, Starbucks and Whole Foods to raise the pay of their lowest-level workers, 72% of organizations with minimum-wage employees have no plans to pay them more.

Worker classification: Salary is just one factor that determines exempt status

01/04/2016

Don’t make the mistake of thinking that just because an employee is paid a salary, he or she is exempt. The employer must also show that the worker performed exempt work under one of the several exemptions available under the Fair Labor Standards Act.

New classification aims at ‘gig’ economy

12/22/2015

Traditionally, there are four possible ways to classify people who perform work. But two classifications—independent contractors and employees—cover most work. Except, some say, in the emerging sharing or “gig” economy. Now two economists at the Brookings Institution think tank in Washington, D.C., have proposed a new category: independent worker.

Calif. rule on paying for time spent on security checks more generous than federal law

12/21/2015

About a year ago, the U.S. Supreme Court rules that under the Fair Labor Standards Act, time spent waiting for security checks after the end of a shift were not compensable minutes. California, however, has greater worker protections built into its version of the FLSA. That’s why a group of Apple store employees brought a suit over their own wait time at the end of their shifts, seeking compensation despite the Supreme Court decision.

Minimum wage increase for workers in Sacramento

12/21/2015

Large employers operating in Sacramento can expect to pay their workers at least $10.50 per hour in 2017 after the city council voted to raise the city’s minimum wage from the current $9 per hour.

Scrap the ice scraper; allow employees to telecommute

12/18/2015

There isn’t a worse sound than someone scraping ice off their windshield at 6:30 in the morning. You don’t have to make employees choose between taking a snow day and working, if you allow them to work from home. While you’re crafting a telecommuting policy, don’t forget the Fair Labor Standards Act.