Wages & Hours

New Year brings minimum wage changes for Minnesota employers

01/02/2019

Now is the time to review labor and employment laws that will affect Minnesota employers in 2019. The minimum wage has been raised by the state of Minnesota and in the Twin Cities.

Advise unemployment authorities if you are still paying commissions to former employee

01/02/2019

If a former employee is collecting on your unemployment account, be sure to let the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development know, so it can adjust the benefit amount.

Worker demands back overtime? Investigate and, if warranted, pay up

12/06/2018

If an employer pays overtime incorrectly, it may be liable for up to two years of unpaid overtime, doubled as a penalty. But if an employer’s overtime mistake is “willful,” that liability reaches back another year, adding to the cost.

Prepare for new labor and employment laws

12/06/2018

With 2019 just around the corner, now is the time to preview labor and employment laws that will soon affect employers.

DOL names the duties your waiter can be directed to do for free

11/13/2018

The Department of Labor has issued an opinion letter confirming activities for which tipped workers need not be paid extra.

Film crew: Mob flick maker stiffed us for $200K

11/06/2018

The crew that worked on the movie “Made in Chinatown,” filmed in Philadelphia last summer, want their money and they have filed a lawsuit to get it.

Bottom-up hiring could perpetuate pay bias

11/06/2018

There’s a danger that wages may appear to be discriminatory if the hiring process is centralized, but decisions about starting pay are made locally, without regard to broader corporate compensation scales. The risk: Class-action lawsuits.

8th Circuit just made it easier to negotiate settlements

10/29/2018

Getting court approval for settlements just got easier in the 8th Circuit. The court said it’s not inclined to second-guess agreed-upon settlement details.

Fire if manager falsifies employee hours worked

10/25/2018

Time clocks and other time-tracking systems are designed to ensure workers receive all the pay they are entitled to. Manipulating those systems can easily lead to huge back-pay awards.

Run audit to check Equal Pay Act compliance

10/18/2018

Answer these questions to see if your organization’s policies violate the EPA.