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Wages & Hours

Sick-leave ‘buyback’ compensation should count toward overtime tally

12/01/2004
Under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), you must pay employees time-and-a-half overtime pay based on the workers’ “regular rate of pay.” That regular rate includes the person’s salary or wages, …

No need to give notice of demotion or pay cut

12/01/2004

Q. We’re planning to demote an employee for performance reasons. He’d move from a supervisory job (salaried/exempt) to an hourly job, so we’d cut his pay by about $10,000 a year. What kind of notice must we give him regarding the pay cut and exemption status? —L.K., Missouri

‘Use-it-or-lose-it’ vacation policy usually legal, but check state law

10/01/2004
If you have a vague (or nonexistent) vacation policy, you’re simply asking for a lawsuit. That’s why it’s important to make sure your organization clearly spells out whether employees can roll …

Supreme Court starts new term; age-bias case tops slim HR agenda

10/01/2004
The U.S. Supreme Court opens its new session Oct. 4, but so far, employment issues are taking a back seat to cases ranging from juvenile executions to wine trading. Expect the …

No Need to Pay Employee for Home-to-Seminar Drive

10/01/2004

Q. In determining when to pay for travel time, what if an employee drives his own car to a seminar that’s two hours away? Should he get paid for his driving time to and from the seminar, even if he leaves from home and drives straight home afterward? —R.M., North Carolina

Calculating paid ‘On-Call’ time an art, not science

10/01/2004

Q. We have a maintenance employee who we will soon put “on call” for various shifts (occasionally at night) to fix equipment. How should we handle his on-call pay? —E.P., Rhode Island

Base salaries on most accurate surveys; weed out bad data

09/01/2004

Salary surveys are plentiful, but many are poorly designed. The risk: Flawed surveys can hurt your organization’s ability to compete for top people …

Check state rules, not just federal, on OT eligibility

09/01/2004
With all the talk about new federal overtime-eligibility rules, remember this: Some states set their own rules that may contradict federal law. In such cases, you must follow whichever law is …

What will Congress do for (or to) your business for the rest of 2004?

08/01/2004
Don’t expect much action from Congress on employment-related law as its legislative year comes to a close. With election season heating up, members of Congress will want to press the flesh …

Trouble meeting Aug. 23 deadline on overtime rules? You’re not alone

08/01/2004
In April, the Labor Department unveiled new rules that redefine the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) definitions of “exempt employees” (not eligible for overtime) and “nonexempt employees” (eligible for overtime) for …