Wages & Hours

Voluntary activities & workers’ comp: It’s all fun and games until …

09/22/2016

Many companies provide fun employee outings to boost morale or show gratitude to their workforce. But what if an employee gets hurt during one of these events?

Do you have to pay employees for their time spent voting?

09/15/2016

No federal laws give employees the right to leave work to vote. But a majority of states do have such laws.

Class-action lawsuit alleges GrubHub misclassified drivers

09/07/2016

Drivers for the takeout food app GrubHub have filed a class-action lawsuit claiming the company misclassified them as independent contractors, thus paying them less than minimum wage and denying overtime pay.

Predictable scheduling gathers momentum

09/07/2016

Seattle Mayor Ed Murray has proposed an ordinance requiring large employers to provide their employees with predictable scheduling. If enacted, Seattle would become the second city to enact similar legislation.

If we feed employees, do we have to pay them for working through lunch?

09/06/2016

Q. Occasionally, when we receive a big order, our nonexempt employees are required to work through their lunch breaks. Although we do not pay them for this work, we buy delicious lunches for all the affected workers. Is this lawful?

Beware suspicious garnishment orders

08/27/2016

Payday lenders are increasingly sending aggressive garnishment orders to employers that mimic legitimate administrative orders from federal agencies.

Is it legal to dock nonexempts’ pay if they clock in late after breaks?

08/26/2016

Q. We give employees the choice of using two 10-minute breaks each day or combining them into one 20-minute lunch break. The employees are required to punch out and in for these breaks. Now, we have a policy that docks employees 15 minutes’ pay if they’re four or more minutes late returning from a break. Is this legal?

Beware extra deductions from tip credits

08/11/2016

Employers are allowed to pay tipped employees less than minimum wage and take a credit for the difference through their tips. With minimum wage set at $7.25, employers may pay $2.13 per hour as long as tips make up the difference (or more). But can the employer deduct from the credit costs associated with credit card processing and calculating, cashing out and distributing the money?

Democratic platform calls for higher minimum wage, expanded paid leave

08/10/2016

The Democratic Party’s 2016 platform, released July 21, calls for “supporting workers through higher wages … and other investments [to] help rebuild the middle class for the 21st century.”

Pay starts to increase as labor market tightens

08/08/2016

Some of the nation’s largest employers have quietly begun implementing a business strategy that has been all but forgotten since the Great Recession ended in 2009. They’re handing out raises.