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Wages & Hours

Employees in ‘unique’ jobs can use broad comparisons to show pay bias

08/01/2001
Nancy Kroh successfully sued for gender discrimination, claiming her male colleagues were treated more favorably. But on appeal, the court tossed the award out. The com-pany convinced the appeals court that …

FLSA Limits Work Done by Volunteers, Unpaid Interns

08/01/2001

Q. I run a small advertising office. A college student has asked to join our staff for the summer. She proposed to work every day for a couple months at no cost. It would be great to get some free help. Is there anything wrong with hiring her? —G.I., Maryland

During FMLA, you can pay exempt workers by the hour

07/01/2001
The job description for Doris Rowe’s position as a bus company supervisor noted the job was “FLSA: EXEMPT.” She was paid a fixed salary every two weeks regardless of the number …

Driving isn’t a major life activity

07/01/2001
After Charlotte Chenoweth was diagnosed with epilepsy, her doctor ordered her not to drive until it was under control. Because her nursing job involved driving to different sites to review files, …

Take all steps needed for accurate time records

06/01/2001

Q. About a year ago, our company replaced manual time clocks and punch cards with a computerized system, so each employee would punch in and out on the computer. The information is downloaded directly to the payroll department. Despite numerous reminders, from stickers to manager meetings, we still have a chronic problem of employees failing to clock in or out of work. Any suggestions? —M.M., Minnesota

Administrative staff: Who’s exempt, who’s not?

05/01/2001
Claims representatives at Farmers Insurance Exchange typically worked beyond 40 hours a week. But the company didn’t cough up overtime pay because it said those workers were …

Exemption for computer staff only covers highly skilled

05/01/2001
The Fair Labor Standards Act’s overtime exemption for computer professionals is narrower than some employers assume, and high-tech employee groups are spreading the word. To be exempt from overtime pay …

‘Downtime’ pay: When to pay for travel, rest, on-call time

05/01/2001
It’s a deceptively simple concept: You have to pay nonexempt employees for every hour they work. But employers often trip over interpretation of that law when it comes to exceptions such …

Keep pay in line with work performed

05/01/2001

Q. A salaried supervisor was unable to handle the stress of his job and requested a transfer. Six months ago, we moved him to a rank-and-file hourly position, but we left him at the higher salary. I think I’m being unfair to the other co-workers in that position. May I reduce his wages to the hourly rate? —C.T., Iowa

Paying for holiday work can endanger exempt status

05/01/2001

Q. Our company policy says employees who work on holidays are paid time-and-a-half. If an exempt employee works on a holiday, can I pay him time-and-a-half? —R.E., Iowa