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Wages & Hours

What are the rules on unpaid interns?

06/30/2011
Q. We have received résumés from many college students looking for unpaid positions this fall. Would we need to pay these interns?

Employee must prove ‘willful’ FLSA violation

06/30/2011
The FLSA can be a trap for employers that don’t properly classify their workers. In fact, getting classification wrong can lead to class-action lawsuits and large back-pay awards. And to confuse things even more, if the employer acted “willfully,” employees get those double awards going back three years. Now the 5th Circuit Court of Ap­peals has at least made it a little harder for employees to collect those damages for three years.

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.