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Wages & Hours

Fluctuating workweek

03/01/2008

Q. My work hours fluctuate a lot depending upon the flow of work. To help manage its cash flow, my employer asked me to sign an agreement where I would receive a set salary each workweek regardless of the number of hours I work. In weeks where I work more than 40 hours, I am paid half-time for overtime hours, instead of time and a half. Can my employer do this? My position is nonexempt …

Think beyond scheduling when adding flexibility

03/01/2008

When many business people and HR pros think of offering employees flexibility in balancing work and life issues, they think in terms of providing scheduling options. But in small businesses, that’s often a deal breaker. Instead, think of flexibility as a broad strategy for business success …

Workplace flexibility: no longer one-Size-Fits-All

03/01/2008

A flexible workplace is flexible in its flexibility. Flextime and flex-place are no longer accommodations for working mothers alone. They are part of a business strategy that helps keep employees productive …

Trucking firm considers family before posting schedules

03/01/2008

At Green Bay, WI-based Schneider National, truck drivers can enter events such as a child’s birthday into the transportation firm’s electronic scheduler so supervisors won’t schedule them to be out of town on the big day. The organization pairs the scheduling tool with other work/life perks …

Seattle firm accepts jobs only if its own employees are available

03/01/2008

When Tim Jenkins and two friends started professional services firm Point B in 1995, they aimed to offer their employees an escape from the 100-hour workweeks and extended business travel that typically accompany high-powered consulting jobs …

Carwashes take a bath over unpaid wages

03/01/2008

Two Bronx carwashes, Tremont Car Wash and Webster Car Wash, and their corporate president have agreed to pay $707,298 in back wages and damages to 237 employees. U.S. Labor Department investigators found that employees at both carwashes were required to work more than 70 hours per week without being paid the federal minimum wage or overtime …

New York’s new employment laws hit employers hard

03/01/2008

Last year, while you were hard at work, so was the New York Legislature. Lawmakers passed a record number of laws affecting employers in 2007. Some laws you may have read about, while others you may have missed. Make sure you’re up to speed on new state laws that surely will impact how you manage employees in 2008 and beyond …

CVS fined for child labor, overtime and timecard violations

03/01/2008

CVS Caremark Corp. was fined $226,000 by the U.S. Labor Department for changing employee timecards and violating child labor laws. The department found 43 violations at stores in New York and six other states …

The policy and legal implications of discussing compensation

03/01/2008

Q. We recently had salary adjustment, and some of our employees have been comparing their raises. But we have a policy that states that compensation matters are confidential. Executives have asked HR to speak to the offending employees and gently remind them about our policy. I am concerned that if I speak to any of the employees, the problem will just get worse. Ideas? …

Unreported tips could spell high workers’ compensation payout

03/01/2008

Employers and employees in cash businesses often bluff, wink and nod their way around the edge of wage-and-hour law legality. But when it’s time to settle workers’ compensation claims, all the cards must go on the table. A recent Florida workers’ compensation case shows just how wrong things can go when employers give their employees unrequested advice on reporting income …