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Wages & Hours

Company owes back wages after misclassifying traveling workers

09/24/2008

The Pennsylvania Department of Labor (DOL) has ordered Lebanon-based Pennsylvania Counseling Services (PCS) to pay $196,477 in back wages to 203 mobile employees who were improperly classified as exempt from overtime …

Portlock Maintenance Systems workers got a bum deal

09/24/2008

An investigation by the New York State Department of Labor (NYSDOL) revealed that restroom attendants at numerous state fairs in western New York, New Jersey and Connecticut were not only unpaid, but were forced to give 50% of their tips to their employer, Easton-based Portlock Maintenance Systems …

Is it OK to exclude vacation pay when figuring base rate for overtime?

09/24/2008

Q. When we are figuring employees’ base pay for overtime calculations, can we exclude their vacation pay?

Hours equity: The next frontier of wage and hour lawsuits?

09/23/2008

A class-action lawsuit by 15,000 Indiana state government employees has gone forward to determine whether several state agencies and institutions paid workers unequally by allowing some to work 37.5-hour weeks while others had to work 40-hour weeks …

Apprentice forms and paycheck deductions

09/23/2008

Q. One of the positions in our manufacturing company has a formal apprenticeship program. To stay accredited, we must submit monthly reports showing the number of classroom training hours in which each apprentice participates. Submission of these forms is mandatory, and yet every month there are always some apprentices (for whatever reason) who fail to submit their forms. Can we withhold a portion of an apprentice’s paycheck at the end of the month until we receive the training reports? …

‘Employee’ misclassified? Refer to IRS to recover SS taxes

09/22/2008

Employees have to pay 7.65% of their wages in Social Security taxes, while employers pay a matching 7.65%. Independent contractors have to pay the entire 15.3% themselves. But what happens if an independent contractor is misclassified and should really be an employee? Can the individual sue her putative “employer” for the 7.65% the company should have paid? …

It’s up to you to stay current on industry-specific regs

09/22/2008

It’s tough to keep up on all the latest changes in employment law. Busy HR professionals have to handle day-to-day problems and make sure new rules and regulations make their way into that routine. But it’s vital to be up to date on new regulations relevant to your industry. Otherwise, you could face extensive, expensive and needless litigation …

Lavatory attendants, while not flush, will at least make minimum wage

09/22/2008

An investigation by the New York State Department of Labor (NYSDOL) revealed that lavatory attendants at county fairs in western New York, New Jersey and Connecticut were not only unpaid, but were forced to give 50% of their tips back to their employer, Portlock Maintenance Systems.

Freehold education administrators go back to school … sort of

09/22/2008

The New Jersey Department of Education (NJDOE) has found that three Freehold Regional High School District administrators who attained advanced degrees from a purported “diploma mill” did not intend to deceive the district.

Bill requiring mandatory sick leave stalls in committee

09/19/2008

The California Senate Appropriations Committee recently held up a bill that would have required all employers in the state to give workers paid sick leave. Under the bill, known as the “California Healthy Families, Healthy Workplaces Act,” employees who work in the state for seven or more days in a calendar year would be entitled to paid sick days …