Wages & Hours

Changing hours: Must we talk to the union first?

03/19/2014

Q. Our employees recently voted for a union and we are now negotiating. Our policies say full-time employee status starts at 30 hours per week. All of our full-time employees currently work 40 hours per week. We want to decrease the hours of some employees (about 25% of them) from eight to six per day. Do we have to bargain with the union on this change or can we just notify them?

St. Paul teachers reach contract accord, avert strike

03/17/2014

Days before a scheduled strike vote in late February, St. Paul teachers reached a tentative deal on a new contract. Overall, teachers will receive an 8.6% increase in pay and benefits over two years.

Base pay on the job–not the job description

03/12/2014

The Equal Pay Act makes it illegal to set separate rates of pay for men and women doing the same work. But some employers don’t understand that job titles and job descriptions don’t matter much when it comes to comparing jobs.

No double liability for state, federal classification claims

03/07/2014

Until now, employers covered by the FLSA faced potential double liability under the North Carolina Wage and Hour Act over unpaid overtime for workers misclassified as exempt. A recent decision makes clear that the federal FLSA takes precedence.

Multitasking doesn’t destroy exempt status when managers must do hands-on work

03/07/2014

Salaried retail managers often have to step in and perform nonmanagement tasks. The fact that they do some of the same things that hourly employees do doesn’t mean they aren’t exempt under the FLSA—as long as they are also managing at the same time.

Supreme Court rules on ‘donning & doffing’ in union shops

03/06/2014

The U.S. Supreme Court’s unanimous interpretation on Jan. 27 of the meaning of “changing clothes” in the FLSA is significant for unionized employers in industries in which workers must change clothes to begin and end their work shifts.

22 states already surpass federal minimum wage

03/04/2014

For all the recent talk about raising the national minimum wage to $10.10 per hour, it’s worth noting that 22 states already require pay higher than the current federal minimum of $7.25 per hour.

Make sure handbook includes rules on off-the-clock work, missed break time

02/26/2014

With strong policies, employees (and their lawyers) will find it much harder to mount class-action wage-and-hour lawsuits. That’s because employees have to show that a common policy or practice was responsible for wage-and-hour violations.

Cover employee expenses–or prepare for court

02/26/2014

Now is a good time to make sure your employees are being properly reimbursed for expenses they incur while performing their jobs. The problem: If they aren’t reimbursed for those expenses, their pay may fall below minimum wage. And if that’s the case, they can quit and sue, alleging constructive discharge.

3% raises to remain the norm in 2014

02/25/2014

Base pay increases for 2014 will remain at 3% for the second year in a row—roughly one percentage point below pre-recession levels, according to Buck Consultants’ seventh annual Compensation Planning Survey.