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Wages & Hours

Setting sound vacation policies requires understanding NC law

02/01/2008

Employers and employees alike often misunderstand North Carolina’s legal requirements concerning vacation benefits. Those misunderstandings often can become emotional and heated. The best way to avoid such disputes is to publish a clear vacation benefits policy based on a solid understanding of North Carolina law …

Handing over the final paycheck

02/01/2008

Q. When and how must I deliver a fired employee’s final paycheck? …

Make sure you pay what contract states

02/01/2008

Indiana employers, listen up! Pay your workers what you say you will pay them, or get ready to pay a lot more. Employees can sue for unpaid wages under the Indiana Wage Payment Act and collect three times their unpaid wages. That can add up quickly …

To pay or not to pay when inclement weather closes the office

02/01/2008

Q. During a recent patch of inclement weather, our company president determined that the roads were too unsafe to ask our employees to come in to work. We notified our employees that they would not be needed that day, and that they were welcome to use a vacation day if they wanted to be paid. (Normally, our policy requires 48 hours’ notice if employees want to take a vacation day.) Some of our employees do not have any accumulated vacation time. Must we offer to pay them? …

CVS fined for child labor, overtime and timecard violations

02/01/2008

CVS Caremark Corp. was fined $226,000 by the U.S. Labor Department for changing employee timecards and violating child labor laws. The department found 43 violations at stores in Pennsylvania and six other states …

$17,000 brightens day for Worthington mushroom workers

02/01/2008

A group of fired Thai workers have settled an unpaid-wages lawsuit with Creekside Mushrooms of Worthington. The mushroom grower will pay $17,376 in back wages to four workers …

Tell applicants upfront about schedule, seniority system

02/01/2008

If you have a system that gives the most senior employees their picks of the best days off, it’s fair to both job applicants and the organization to be clear about what hours new hires should expect to work. The best approach is to ask about work availability upfront—right on the job application …

Employment law lite: Court says monkeys, chimps can’t sue

02/01/2008

A Texas appeals court had dismissed a lawsuit filed by People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) on behalf of nine chimpanzees and monkeys. The court said the primates don’t have an independent right to sue …

Colorado Workers’ Compensation Act

02/01/2008
Colorado’s workers’ compensation system protects employees who are injured on the job by replacing lost wages while they recover. The state’s Division of Workers’ Compensation (www.coworkforce.com/DWC) administers the law …

Colorado Minimum Wage Law

02/01/2008
On Jan. 1, 2008, the Colorado minimum wage rose to $7.02 per hour, compared to the current federal minimum wage of $5.85 per hour …