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FLSA

A few unpaid ‘donning and doffing’ minutes can add up to penalties worth millions

10/14/2014

With few exceptions, hourly employees are entitled to pay for all time worked. Paid time can include the time it takes to put on specialized equipment and clothing and walk to a workstation. If you rely on an inaccurate formula to calculate that time, a jury may correct your mistake for all similarly situated employees—and a judge may double the amount owed for unpaid time.

Miscalculating overtime pay costs San Antonio company almost $150K

10/07/2014
San Antonio-based Costa Solutions has agreed to pay 63 current and former employees $146,459 in back pay and overtime following a DOL investigation. Costa provides logistics and freight-handling services to retail business, including the H-E-B Grocery chain.

Resist qualification inflation: Super skills don’t make position exempt

10/07/2014

The U.S. Department of Labor considers the minimum job requirements for a position—not the people who hold those jobs—when determining whether the employees are nonexempt, hourly workers or exempt under the FLSA. If you hire overqualified applicants, their training and experience doesn’t transform the job from hourly to exempt.

Where legal trouble lurks: Even unwritten rules must be enforced fairly and consistently

10/07/2014
Before disciplining an employee who says she did what she did because her supervisor told her it was OK, make sure others following the same informal rule were treated the same. If you fire or demote one, you must fire or demote the other.

Use independent contractors? Check out new DOL guide

10/07/2014
The U.S. Department of Labor and state labor agencies are getting tough on employers that misclassify employees as independent contractors. To help employers sidestep some common errors on this issue, the DOL has published a revised fact sheet on classification under the FLSA.

When unpaid ‘gap time’ doesn’t violate FLSA

09/26/2014
With collective-action wage-and-hour claims on the rise, employers worry that they may be burned by unpaid work they didn’t even know employees were performing. But a recent appeals court decision provides a rare piece of good news: As long as employees haven’t worked more than 40 hours in any given workweek, so-called “gap time” between hours paid and hours worked doesn’t always mean liability.

When undocumented immigrants sue over pay

09/19/2014

Simply put, immigration status isn’t relevant to whether an employer violated the FLSA by paying less than minimum wage or failed to pay proper overtime. However, if the worker is cooperating with the DOL in an FLSA case, the employer may demand to know whether the worker may receive something of value for his testimony.

To prove executive exemption, show employee’s ‘direct involvement’ in hiring

09/17/2014

Employees are eligible for overtime pay unless their positions fit into one of several exemption categories, including the executive exemption. But take note: Don’t try to apply the executive exemption label unless the employee is directly involved in hiring and firing or his or her recommendations are seriously considered during the decision-making process.

Supreme Court to decide key employment law cases this term

09/05/2014
Cases heard starting Oct. 6 will decide questions involving the reach of federal agencies that enforce employment laws.

New York amends Human Rights Law to protect unpaid interns

09/05/2014
On July 22, Gov. Andrew Cuomo signed a bill that amends the New York Human Rights Law by adding a new Section 296-c titled, “Unlawful discriminatory practices relating to interns.”