FLSA

Settlement agreement may not kill OT claims

07/15/2015

The 5th Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled that settling a state court lawsuit over a noncompete agreement (with a payment and an agreement that supposedly included all employment claims) didn’t bar the former employees from suing for unpaid overtime that they claimed was owed to them under the Fair Labor Standards Act.

With new rule in spotlight, what OT really looks like

07/14/2015

The Obama administration’s announcement that it wants to double the salary threshold that makes white-collar managers eligible for overtime pay from the current $23,660 per year to $50,440 comes on the heels of research that says half of America’s salaried employees work more than 40 hours per week.

Court shoots down DOL rule on unpaid interns

07/13/2015

Over the past year, several big companies have forked over big bucks to settle class-action lawsuits filed by interns alleging that they should have been paid for the time they spent getting a firsthand look at how the business world works. Employers felt compelled to settle following a string of high-profile lawsuits that went interns’ way, as well as the very clear Department of Labor rules on intern pay. But now the 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals has issued a decision that may show the employers were a bit hasty in capitulating.

How does a tip credit work with minimum wage?

07/09/2015

Q. May we count tips received by our employees, including restaurant servers, toward the payment of their minimum wage?

The new overtime rules: 5 steps to take now

07/09/2015

On July 6, the U.S. Department of Labor officially unveiled the biggest overhaul of overtime law in history. Public comments on the proposal are due by Sept. 4. The final draft will be published after that and may go live as early as Jan. 1. Experts predict an effective date in spring 2016.

At SHRM, HR pros react to DOL’s proposed overtime pay rule

07/07/2015

The Department of Labor announced its new proposed rule for white-collar overtime pay right as thousands of HR pros were meeting in Las Vegas at the Society for Human Resource Management’s 2015 Annual Conference. Needless to say, it instantly became agenda item No. 1. Here’s some of the reaction at SHRM to the DOL’s bombshell.

DOL criteria for legitimate unpaid internships

07/06/2015

Is that summer intern down the hall working for free? Watch out! Chances are, you should be paying her at least the minimum wage. To avoid having to pay interns, employers must meet all six of these criteria laid out in U.S. Department of Labor Fact Sheet #71.

White-collar OT threshold doubling to more than $50K

06/30/2015

The Department of Labor estimates the move will make at least five million more workers eligible for overtime pay if they work more than 40 hours in a week.

Agenda tips DOL’s hand on after-hours technology and pay

06/30/2015

Tucked inside the Obama administration’s Semiannual Regulatory Agenda this spring was a Department of Labor initiative worth watching: A Wage and Hour Division effort to study how employees’ after-hours use of technology might affect wages and overtime pay.

Cross-departmental work? Remember OT rules

06/29/2015

Large employers usually have several departments, and it’s common for employees to do work in more than one. But some payroll systems may not catch it when cross-departmental work exceeds 40 hours in a week, separately recording hours worked in each department.