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Wages & Hours

Employees comparing pay? Don’t try to muzzle them

12/01/2003
Issue: About a third of all organizations prohibit employees from discussing pay with one another. Risk: Such confidentiality policies likely violate …

Gender gap closing a bit, but equal-pay claims still rise

11/01/2003
Reminder to employers: You may have heard that the gender pay gap is closing somewhat. But don’t slack off in your efforts to comply with the Equal Pay Act.
The …

Make Sure ‘Manual Punch’ Counts Correct Hours

11/01/2003

Q. We use a timecard punch-in/punch-out system. If an employee forgets to punch in, and we manually do it, do any labor laws apply? —B.B., New York

Nonunion shops: You can be liable for ‘unfair labor practices’

10/01/2003
Before you lash out against workers who rise up against a pay issue or other working condition, stop yourself. The National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) protects employees’ rights to engage in …

Don’t Treat Disciplinary Suspensions as ‘Admin Leave’

10/01/2003

Q. We recently sent an employee home for not following his supervisor’s instructions. Do we have an obligation to pay him for the full day regardless? How should we handle this situation in the future? Is this considered administrative leave? —D.M., California

Defuse the 5 biggest telecommuter legal threats

10/01/2003
Issue: Telecommuters pose unique legal risks, and courts are still figuring out what employers are liable for.
Risk: Complaints and lawsuits over workers’ comp, overtime, discrimination …

Unionized or not, beware of ‘unfair labor practices’

10/01/2003
Issue: Punishing workers for protesting work conditions could constitute “unfair labor practices”, even if your work force isn’t unionized.
Risk: Defending an NLRA claim …

Consider paying staff if computer error halts work

10/01/2003

Q. Is it OK not to pay hourly employees if we have to send them home because our computer system went down for the day? —J.B., Massachusetts

You have new ammunition against ‘Collective action’ overtime lawsuits

09/01/2003

When slapped with a pay-related lawsuit, the last thing you want is for other employees and ex-employees to piggyback on that suit, creating a big "collective action" case. Good news: AA new court ruling highlights a successful defense against such suits …

Use telecommuters? Defuse 5 main lawsuit threats

09/01/2003
Telecommuting is popular with employers and employees. Com-panies with telecommuting programs can realize productivity gains, im-proved morale …