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Wages & Hours

VERMONT: Payroll law update, July-Dec. 2011

12/01/2011
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Does our ‘sick leave bonus’ count toward employee’s regular rate of pay?

11/30/2011
Q. We pay a bonus for not using accrued sick leave. Does that count when determining an employee’s regular rate of pay for overtime purposes?

Can we offer more vacation in lieu of OT pay?

11/30/2011
Q. May an employer compensate an employee for overtime work by awarding additional paid vacation time equal to the total accrued overtime?

New rules for commissioned sales employees?

11/29/2011
Q. What are the new developments regarding overtime exemption for commissioned sales employees?

General labor doesn’t make manager nonexempt

11/28/2011
Every year, hundreds of retail and restaurant managers sue, claiming they should be classified as nonexempt because they spend almost all their time doing the same kinds of tasks their subordinates do. But that’s not the test. In fact, managers often do double duty, performing manual tasks while also managing their workers.

Part-time after childbirth? Careful how you figure pay

11/23/2011
Here’s an unexpected factor to consider when an employee requests part-time work following childbearing leave: How you set her pay rate may create Equal Pay Act problems.

Don’t let the FLSA’s pay rules snow you under this winter

11/21/2011
Winter isn’t a challenging season just because of the lousy weather. It’s tough on payroll staff, who must ensure that the company’s pay policies jibe with the Fair Labor Standards Act when employees leave early, arrive late or just stay home because of snow. Here are the rules for nonexempts and exempts.

$17 million at stake: Are real estate agents nonexempt?

11/18/2011
The California Labor Commissioner is suing ZipRealty Inc., claiming the company owes unpaid wages to hundreds of real estate agents. The lawsuit is seeking minimum wages in excess of $7.5 million, overtime compensation in the amount of $1.25 million—plus damages and ­penalties of over $9 million.

Don’t want class-action arbitration? Say so

11/18/2011
When claims involve unpaid overtime or misclassification, attorneys representing employees naturally want to handle the case as a class or collective action. Some employers think that if they include an arbitration agreement in their terms and conditions of em­­ploy­­ment, a wage-and-hour claim has to go to arbi­­tra­­tion as an individual claim. That’s not necessarily true.

W-2s: the gift that keeps on giving

11/18/2011

W-2s can give you aggravation, sleepless nights, you name it. Here are the critical due dates, as well as six common W-2 errors and easy tips to avoid them: