Compensation & Benefits

How can we avoid wage-and-hour class action lawsuits?

10/07/2008

Q. I keep hearing about wage-and-hour class actions, where workers claim they were not paid properly because they were misclassified as exempt, not paid for all hours or not paid the correct overtime rate. What can I do to minimize this risk? …

Bilingual employees invaluable to you? Don’t punish them for their special skills

10/06/2008

Texas has a large number of Spanish-speaking residents, and a workforce that can effectively communicate with those residents can be a prized commodity. But before you thrust additional work on Hispanic employees who can communicate with customers who don’t speak English well, consider the following case …

Reason prevails: No need to warn of obvious hazards

10/06/2008

Employers who don’t sign up for the Texas workers’ compensation system can be sued directly by employees who are injured on the job. But that doesn’t mean every workplace accident will result in a damaging lawsuit judgment …

Can someone who resigns get unemployment?

10/06/2008

Q. Is an employee who resigns entitled to receive unemployment compensation under Texas law? …

OK to fire slackers even if out on FMLA leave

10/06/2008

It’s a myth that being off on FMLA leave means an employee can’t be terminated. The employee can be—as long as the employer has good reasons for the termination. Being on FMLA leave doesn’t give someone immunity from being fired for incompetence …

Child support payments

10/06/2008

Q. Do we have to deduct child-support payments from employee wages? …

DOL grills tortilla maker, gets agreement on back pay

10/06/2008

De Maiz Tortilleria, a tortilla production company in Pharr, Texas, has agreed to pay $401,314 in back wages to 133 employees following a U.S. Department of Labor investigation looking into allegations it violated the FLSA …

Pay for employee who works through lunch?

10/06/2008

Q. Must we pay a nonexempt employee who voluntarily works through lunch for the time, even though we never requested the extra work? …

ESL classes improve skills on job, in community

10/03/2008

At Cascade Asset Management in Madison, Wis., foreign-born employees take English as a Second Language (ESL) classes on site at no cost. A local literacy network evaluates employees and conducts the classes …

Workers may earn unlimited degrees

10/03/2008

Some employees of Hypertherm in Hanover, N.H., are earning a trio of bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral degrees—all on the company dime. And the organization has set a goal to send 3% of its employees to school at all times …