FLSA

Manhattan strippers gain minimum wage, overtime

11/14/2013

A federal judge has ruled that federal labor law covers strippers at Rick’s Cabaret in midtown Manhattan. As a result, they must be paid the minimum wage and are entitled to overtime when they work more than 40 hours in a week.

Harris Health System pays out $4M for back OT

10/31/2013

Harris Health System in Houston will pay out more than $4 million in back pay after it failed to include incentive pay when calculating overtime for thousands of hourly staff members.

Preserve exempt status: Stick to fixed salary

10/31/2013

To qualify as exempt under the FLSA, employees must be paid on a “salary basis.” Employers often trigger an FLSA lawsuit—and lose employees’ exempt status—when they try to tinker with a person’s salary based on hours or quality of work.

Riverside detailer missed a spot in its pay records

10/29/2013

Interior Magic of California, a car detailing service in Riverside County, will have to pay $292,000 in back wages and liquidated damages to 205 current and former employees, plus $34,408 in civil penalties to polish its image following a U.S. Department of Labor investigation.

Discovered a wage-and-hour mistake? Fix it fast to avoid extra liability

10/15/2013

If you or a supervisor realize that a payroll mistake was made—especially if an hourly employee wasn’t paid for all hours worked—the best policy is to fix those errors as soon as you can. Doing so will reduce your liability down the line.

Paying workers with debit cards isn’t as easy as it seems

10/10/2013

More employers are pushing their workers to receive pay via debit cards. But not all employees want to be paid that way—and the law is often on their side.

Federal wage-and-hour law to cover home health aides

10/07/2013

The DOL has announced final rules extending FLSA minimum wage and overtime protections to most workers who provide home care assistance to elderly, sick and disabled people. The rules will go into effect Jan. 1, 2015.

Can we require overtime work?

10/02/2013

Q. When our business gets busy, is it legal for us to require our nonexempt employees to work overtime on occasion?

Don’t let court take employee’s word on hours

10/01/2013

Here’s a case that should send chills down your spine if you don’t keep meticulous records of every hour worked. A court has allowed a case to proceed based on little more than a worker’s vague allegation that she wasn’t paid overtime for hours in excess of 40 per week.

What are the rules on paying for time spent putting on protective gear?

09/30/2013

Q. Our company policy states that employees are not compensated for the time spent changing into their uniforms, which includes special protective wear. A new employee was surprised to find out he couldn’t clock in before getting geared up. Are we required to pay workers for that time, or is it up to the discretion of each individual company?