• The HR Specialist - Print Newsletter
  • HR Specialist: Employment Law
  • The HR Weekly

FLSA

Software subtracts ‘idle time’? Beware

11/13/2015
If you use an automated system to track how much time your employees are “working” at their computers, be forewarned. Subtracting those minutes from the workday may violate both the federal Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) provisions and the Minnesota Payment of Wages Act (MPWA). Employees paid on an hourly basis must be paid for all time worked, and subtracting for so-called idle time without some way for employees to correct their pay may mean litigation.

Must I pay employees for weekend training?

11/12/2015
Q. I have arranged for my nonexempt hourly employees to attend a training session on a weekend, outside of their normal work hours. Must I pay them regular and/or overtime wages for their attendance?

Agencies: Tell staff they’ll get comp time instead of OT

11/12/2015
The Fair Labor Standards Act allows government agencies to offer comp time in lieu of overtime when employees work more than 40 per week. As long as you clearly let employees know that’s how you will treat OT, they can’t complain later.

Strip illegal terms from arbitration agreements

11/12/2015
If you use an arbitration agreement for Texas employees, be aware that including terms that limit the kinds of relief employees can seek in arbitration aren’t legal.

All work, no pay: Intern sues Olsen twins’ fashion house

11/06/2015
A former intern is suing Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen’s Dualstar entertainment, alleging she received neither pay nor college credit for four months of work. The former intern seeks to make the suit a class action by including 40 other interns.

Fancy title won’t erase overtime eligibility

11/05/2015

Remember: The title that you decide to give an employee has no impact on whether or not she should properly be classified as exempt from overtime pay. What matters are her duties. If they are routine and menial in nature, she’s not exempt, even if she holds a lofty title in the organization.

Pay envelopes a little fatter at Philly direct mail company

11/03/2015
Investigators from the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division have foiled a joint employer scheme they claim attempted to cheat temporary workers out of overtime pay.

FLSA doesn’t protect every crabby gripe about pay

10/30/2015
Employers can’t retaliate against workers who complain about alleged Fair Labor Standards Act violations. However, not every complaint about pay is protected.

Executive order: Federal contractors must provide paid sick leave

10/28/2015

On Labor Day, President Obama signed the latest in a string of executive orders applicable to employers that contract with the federal government. Executive Order 13706 will permit certain employees working on federal contracts to earn at least one hour of paid sick leave for every 30 hours worked. According to a White House fact sheet, the new paid leave mandate will affect approximately 300,000 workers … and imposes substantial new obligations on many employers.

Are computer programmers exempt from overtime in California?

10/22/2015
Q. Our company needs to hire computer programmers to create, maintain, and update internal software, and to develop apps to give to our clients. I have heard about a “computer workers” exception from overtime. What exactly is the exception and can I apply it to my computer programmers?