FLSA

Should we track exempts’ sick time?

05/28/2013

Q. Our company gives eight hours of sick leave per month to nonexempt employees. We’ve been told that, under the FLSA, exempt employees are to be paid whenever they are sick. So our exempt employees have virtually an unlimited sick-leave balance. Is this a correct way to interpret the FLSA? Should we have some type of sick-leave accrual and tracking for our exempts?

Walmart pay saga continues with appeal to Pa. Supreme Court

05/28/2013

Retail giant Walmart has appealed to the Pennsylvania Supreme Court, asking it to overturn a $187.6 million class-action verdict issued two years ago. That decision followed a 32-day trial in 2006 that sent shock waves through the Pennsylvania employer community.

Supreme Court rules FLSA class-action properly dismissed as moot

05/20/2013

The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that a class-action lawsuit filed by a worker under the FLSA was properly dismissed because the worker’s suit was moot when she failed to accept an offer of judgment from her employer.

Wage-and-hour lawsuits up sharply

05/20/2013

Employees filed a record 7,764 federal wage-and-hour lawsuits between April 1, 2012, and March 31, 2013, a 10% jump over the previous year, according to the Federal Judicial Center. Last year, FLSA lawsuits rose only 1%.

Is it OK to volunteer for your own nonprofit?

05/10/2013

Q. I work for a nonprofit organization. Several hourly employees of the organization volunteer during nonworking hours. Is that OK?

Discovered wage-and-hour irregularities? Act fast to fix

05/09/2013

When it comes to paying hourly employees for all hours worked, the best policy is to fix any mistakes as soon as you can. Chances are, doing so will reduce your liability down the line.

Supremes: No class? No FLSA class-action!

05/02/2013

The U.S. Supreme Court on April 16 dismissed an FLSA suit, reaching the somewhat obvious conclusion that a wage-and-hour case that fails to attract class members has no standing to proceed as a class-action lawsuit.

Beware misclassifying inside sales staff

05/01/2013

Do you have employees classified as inside sales employees? If so, you may be courting trouble unless you are absolutely sure they qualify for the exemption. That’s especially true if you also don’t track any extra hours they work.

House bill would offer employees comp time instead of OT pay

05/01/2013

Republican lawmakers have introduced a bill that would allow nonexempt employees to choose compensatory time off instead of overtime pay. The Working Families Flexibility Act would let private-sector employees take an hour and a half of paid time off for every hour of overtime worked.

Garner landscaper illegally trimmed worker pay

04/30/2013

Garner-based KBE Landscaping will pay $14,651 in back pay to 33 employees after a Department of Labor investigation revealed the company failed to properly pay overtime to its hourly workers.