• The HR Specialist - Print Newsletter
  • HR Specialist: Employment Law
  • The HR Weekly

Wages & Hours

It’s legit to use differences in location and duties to justify varying pay scales

06/30/2011
Under the Equal Pay Act, em­­ployers can set different salaries based on geographically distinct job locations. In other words, you aren’t required to pay a manager in New York City the same as one in a lower-cost locale, even if the New York manager is male and the manager in the other location is female. Plus, any differences in responsibilities can help justify the difference.

Settlement may mean higher pay for pharma firm’s N.J. women

06/28/2011

Pharmaceutical giant AstraZeneca, has agreed to settle a gender pay discrimination claim, and the con­sent decree that spells out the terms of the settlement could affect New Jersey women who work for the company. Under the settlement, 124 female pharmaceutical sales specialists will split $250,000.

Settlement may mean higher pay for pharma firm’s N.C. women

06/23/2011

Pharmaceutical giant Astra Zeneca has agreed to settle a gender pay bias claim, and the consent decree that spells out the terms of the settlement could affect North Carolina women who work for the company. Under the settlement, 124 female pharmaceutical sales specialists will split $250,000.

Feds issue new tip-credit pooling rules

06/23/2011
Employers are now free to set the percentage of employee tips that can be placed in a tip pool. In years past, several court decisions conflicted with the U.S. Department of Labor’s position restricting the amount of tips an employer could require to be pooled.

When workers must wear special gear, beware lawsuit if you don’t pay for ‘donning & doffing’

06/23/2011
Employees who believe they haven’t been properly paid for the time they spend getting into and out of protective gear are engaging lawyers and filing class-action lawsuits.

How can we recoup money we overpaid worker?

06/23/2011
Q. We pay most of our employees’ wages and salaries via direct deposit. Last week, two checks for the same pay period were deposited into an employee’s account. Can we legally have the bank withdraw the extra funds from the employee’s account?

Do we have to pay for nonexempt’s travel time for one-day out-of-town trips?

06/23/2011
Q. One of our executives will be making day trips once a week to Boston from Philadelphia for a special assignment. Do we have to compensate the secretary (she is nonexempt) for her travel time to and from Boston?

Appeals court: Walmart owes $188 million for unpaid work

06/23/2011
The Pennsylvania Superior Court has upheld a $188 million verdict against Walmart stores and Sam’s Club warehouse stores in a case involving 187,000 current and former employees. A jury had concluded that’s what the retailer owed employees for rest breaks that should have been paid and for off-the-clock work.

Telework before commute: Is drive time paid?

06/23/2011

Many employees spend time at home before or after their workday checking email. For nonexempt employees, that work could count as paid time if it amounts to a “substantial” amount of time. But now some hourly employees have begun to raise a related issue: If they start the day with a few work emails, shouldn’t they be paid for the time they spend commuting to work?

Majority of Americans say they’re paid fairly

06/17/2011
While you may be the one hearing the cries of the underpaid, a majority of American workers (60%) believe they are paid fairly, says a survey of 1,000 U.S. workers by HR consultant Kenexa.