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FLSA

Detailed wage records can prevent back-Pay complaints

05/01/2007

Zablocki Industries, which operates Aunt Heddy’s Bakery in Brooklyn, has agreed to pay $25,687 in back wages and interest to six employees to settle a U.S. Labor Department lawsuit …

New study turns up heat on child labor compliance

05/01/2007

Many teenagers operate hazardous equipment at work and fail to receive appropriate safety training, according to a new study by the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health …

‘Uniform’ can be an expensive word for employers

05/01/2007

Be careful what you refer to as an employee “uniform” in your employee handbook and policies. The wrong use of the word could be costly …

Use discipline to enforce your no-Overtime policy

05/01/2007

Q.  We temporarily allowed an hourly employee to come in early and take work home at night. We paid her for overtime on both ends. But now we’ve promoted someone else and told the hourly worker to stop coming in early and taking work home. She said she prefers working early and still does (plus she skips lunch) but reports for just 40 hours. Is she setting us up?—L.B., New York

Complying with the no-Docking rules

05/01/2007

Q. We are a small company with fewer than 20 employees. While I understand the issue of paying exempt employees full salary and docking from the PTO banks when they’re absent, is there someplace that I can go to get an example of a company policy to support a 40-hour-per-week effort from each employee?—E.R., Virginia

One more thing to worry about: Add ‘Unjust enrichment’ to list of labor claims

05/01/2007

Recently, attorneys have added “unjust enrichment” to the growing list of legal claims lobbed at employers. Simply put, employers who receive a benefit from an employee can be sued if the employer’s retention of that benefit is inequitable …

Require Early Clock-In? Allow Early Clock-Out, or Pay

05/01/2007

Do you require hourly employees to clock in a few minutes before they start their shifts to make sure they’re ready to work? If you don’t start paying at that time, you’d better allow an early clock-out …

Clarifying the partial-Day deduction rule

04/01/2007

Q. I have a question about the partial-day deduction rule. I don’t understand how we can deduct from salaried employees’ paid-leave bank when they are gone for an hour or two during the day since we don’t pay them anything extra when they work 50 hours in a week. For example, if an employee works 10-hour days on a regular basis, is it OK to charge her vacation time when she leaves an hour or two early? —J.H., Minnesota

Preserve records or face jury’s wrath on overtime pay

04/01/2007

If you get wind of a possible lawsuit over unpaid overtime, make sure all your payroll records remain intact and available. Don’t crank up the shredder. If you dispose of related documents, the penalties under Ohio law can be especially harsh …

Exempt status in question? ‘Good-Faith’ reply saves the day

04/01/2007

If an employee comes forward to protest that you owe him overtime pay because he should truly be a nonexempt worker, it pays to act fast and be able to show good cause why you classified him as exempt in the first place …