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Wages & Hours

Preparing for work: Pay depends on rules, employer benefit

10/01/2007

Do your employees have to put on special uniforms or equipment before beginning work? If the law or your company policy requires it, chances are the time spent getting in and out of the clothing or equipment should be paid time …

Class-Action suit could cost French firm over $300M

10/01/2007

Sanofi-aventis U.S., the American branch of a French pharmaceutical group, has been hit with a class-action sexual discrimination and harassment lawsuit. The four plaintiffs claim they were paid less and not promoted because of their gender. The women also say their bosses made unwelcome sexual comments and gestures, and management did not respond when they complained …

H-1B visa abuse costs Iselin tech company back wages, penalties

10/01/2007

The U.S. Labor Department has ordered Technologies500, of Iselin, to pay $537,189 in back wages to 36 computer programmers it hired under the H-1B visa program. The software company, also known as Cybersoftec.com, failed to pay the workers prevailing wages from January 2004 to November 2005. The department also levied fines of $162,750 …

ADEA verdict flies after Boeing’s job offer falls flat

10/01/2007

A former procurement-quality specialist for Boeing Company in Philadelphia does not have to accept reinstatement in lieu of front pay awarded by a jury in an age-discrimination suit, the U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Pennsylvania, has ruled …

Labor sues Texas company for FLSA overtime violations

10/01/2007

The U.S. Labor Department sued Pilgrim’s Pride Corp. for violating the Fair Labor Standards Act by failing to pay approximately $3 million in overtime wages to more than 500 former and current employees. The department claims employee records at the company’s Dallas facility failed to show the number of hours the poultry-processing employees worked each day and the total number of hours they worked each week …

Caution when dealing with employees’ ‘protected concerted activity’

10/01/2007
Q. I recently received a memo signed by all four employees in one department asking for 5% raises. Can I have a meeting with them to let them know that there is no money for raises, that their department could easily be eliminated and that they would be smarter just to keep a low profile and do their jobs?

How to handle pay for interns

10/01/2007

Q. Must a Texas employer pay its interns? …

Independent Contractor or Employee? How to Make The Call

09/18/2007
White Paper published by The HR Specialist ______________________ For years, the IRS has relied on a 20-factor test to determine whether a worker is considered an “employee” or an “independent contractor.” Conferring contractor status on a worker often benefits the employer, who is then not obligated to withhold income tax or to pay Social Security […]

Paying exempt employees extra? Be sure to clarify status

09/01/2007

Do you pay exempt employees extra for working extra hours? If you do, make sure you clearly indicate that you still consider the employees as exempt. That way, should you stop making the payments, you haven’t created unreasonable expectations …

Settling strike by paying for missed work may cut unemployment tab

09/01/2007

When it’s time to settle a strike, and that settlement includes paying for some of the time employees missed either because they were on the picket line or you laid them off, be aware of the language you use to describe the payment …