• The HR Specialist - Print Newsletter
  • HR Specialist: Employment Law
  • The HR Weekly

Wages & Hours

Supreme Court preview: More pay-Bias lawsuits coming?

10/01/2006

When the U.S. Supreme Court opens its new term on Oct. 2, look for a clear theme to the employment-related cases it has chosen to address: the Civil Rights Act of 1964 …

Commute isn’t on the clock, Even 100+ miles

10/01/2006

Q. Should we pay for travel time if the employee’s drive from home to the first job site is a very long distance (example: Los Angeles to San Diego)? —L.S., California

No comp time for private firms; Flex time is OK

10/01/2006

Q. Can you please clarify if and when we can offer comp time to our employees? I’m confused. —S.L., West Virginia

‘Cool’ music company creates transition plan for new moms

09/01/2006

Detroit-based music company, Handleman Co., hosts impromptu concerts in the lobby and gives free CDs to employees. Such perks landed the firm on a list of 60 "Cool Places to Work" in Michigan. But cool wasn’t cutting it for the company’s working moms, who wanted more flexibility after having babies …

How to pay employee called in during PTO leave

09/01/2006

Q. We have a nonexempt salaried employee who normally works Monday to Friday and is paid biweekly. She took a week’s vacation, which would come from her PTO (paid time off) bank. We had a customer emergency and called her into work on the Saturday of her vacation week. How should she be paid? Should she receive her PTO pay but have eight hours less of it charged against her PTO bank? Should she be paid for eight extra hours, plus her week of PTO pay? If we pay her both PTO and eight extra hours, do we have to pay her overtime? —W.M.

Clerical tasks don’t defeat administrative exemption

09/01/2006

Here’s one more reason to double-check your job descriptions: Some exempt employees may try to claim they’re entitled to overtime pay simply because they spend a fair amount of time on filing and typing …

Understanding religious accommodations in Pennsylvania workplaces

09/01/2006

Pennsylvania mirrors America’s growing diversity in many ways. Today, mosques occupy old churches; co-workers wear burqas and yarmulkes; and some employees request "prayer breaks." Religious diversity is a reason for celebration in a pluralistic society, but it also presents challenges in the workplace …

Must you pay employees for the commute? Sometimes, yes

09/01/2006

If you think you don’t have to start paying hourly employees until they arrive at the official job site, think again. While it’s true that you don’t normally need to compensate employees for their home-to-work commute, you might have to pay for the travel time if you impose restrictions on that commute or require them to stop along the way …

Hold firm on raises; salaries to rise 3.5 percent in ’07

09/01/2006

Employers report that they’ll be dishing out average pay raises of 3.5 percent for exempt and nonexempt employees in 2007, the same level that they’re currently paying in 2006, according to a new Conference Board survey of 441 companies …

Obtain written OK for wage deductions

09/01/2006

Q. Our company allows employees to purchase products on an installment basis. When employees quit and haven’t yet paid the full amount, can we deduct the remainder due from their last paycheck?—K.M., Pennsylvania