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Wages & Hours

When setting pay and bonus plans, take both federal and Minnesota laws into account

12/09/2010

A recent state Supreme Court decision highlights one of the unique problems facing employers: While a pay practice may be valid under state law, it may be illegal under federal law. To ensure they’re in full compliance, employers must be prepared to change their pay practices to conform with the most restrictive law.

It takes just a handful of workers to make a class action

12/06/2010
It’s every employer’s nightmare: A disgruntled former employee files a lawsuit alleging you didn’t pay overtime. Then he asks to turn it into a class action, representing other employees. Now a claim worth a few hundred dollars has turned into a major lawsuit.

Review duties, update job descriptions yearly to ensure employees are properly classified

12/02/2010

As job duties change, evolve or grow, make sure you regularly review employee responsibilities, update job descriptions to reflect the reality on the ground and determine if the job is properly classified as exempt or nonexempt. Don’t rely on an analysis that’s even a couple of years old—or even an analysis provided by the DOL itself.

Travel time pay–Your questions answered

11/30/2010

Must you pay hourly employees for … a cab to the airport? … a drive to a second work site? … a flight to a conference? Here is an analysis of these challenges, using a case study for each question.

Check pay policies for massive lawsuit threat–simple underpayment can quickly balloon

11/30/2010

Make a small mistake in how you pay hourly employees, and the stakes can be quite high. Individually, a wage-and-hour claim may amount to just a few hundred dollars. But multiply an underpayment as small as $350 by 1,000 employees and now you’re looking at a $700,000 tab–that’s because courts routinely double unpaid wage awards in FLSA cases.

Can we deduct wages to cover unpaid-for employee purchases following termination?

11/24/2010
Q. Our company allows employees to purchase products on an installment basis. When employees leave and haven’t repaid the full amount, can we deduct the remainder due from their last paycheck?

Are meal breaks mandatory?

11/24/2010
Q. Is it mandatory for a nonexempt employee to take at least a 20-minute meal break?

Can a small employer deny leave to an employee whose spouse is seriously ill?

11/24/2010
Q. One of our full-time employees took time off when her husband had a heart attack. We’re a small company with 30 employees. Management was very upset and wouldn’t let her take any paid time off and wouldn’t guarantee her position. She had accumulated several weeks of paid leave. Is it legal to keep her from taking paid time off to care for her husband?

Does the Port Authority pay female attorneys less than men?

11/24/2010

The EEOC has sued the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, alleging it pays male lawyers much more than women who perform the same work. On behalf of three plaintiffs, the EEOC seeks class certification for all female attorneys affected by the allegedly discriminatory pay policies.

Management exemption looks at duties, not time

11/24/2010

Retail managers are generally responsible for everything that happens in their stores. But they often spend most of their time doing the same work that hourly employees do. Even so, they may qualify as exempt employees under the FLSA. It’s the quality of the management work they do that counts, not the number of hours they spend doing it.