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Wages & Hours

Accommodate Reduced Hours For Pregnant Worker

11/01/2002

Q. I have a salaried employee who is pregnant. She brought in a doctor’s note that says her hours need to be cut to six per day. Can I either reduce her pay or have her work six days a week? —M.S., Virginia

Who Pays for Uniforms?

11/01/2002

Q. We require employees to wear uniforms. Can we deduct from their paychecks the money to pay for the uniform or clean it? —L.B., Massachusetts

Sleeping on the job doesn’t pay–this time

09/01/2002
The manager of a group home was required to work a regular, eight-hour day and remain at the home overnight. He was paid for a standard, 40-hour workweek and sued, alleging …

Feelings of exploitation, ‘e-overtime’ lead to rise in wage lawsuits

09/01/2002
Taking work home and working off the clock is causing employees to feel they’re being taken advantage of by their employers. And letting the situation fester is contributing in a big …

Minimum wage: Brush up on your legal obligations

09/01/2002
THE LAW. The federal Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) requires virtually all employers to pay at least a minimum wage, now $5.15 an hour, to all nonexempt employees. Many states also …

Comp Time for Exempt Workers: A Slippery Slope

09/01/2002

Q. Is it legal to give our full-time, salaried employees extra time off from work due to meetings and extra workload responsibilities? —C.E., West Virginia

More companies opt for mandatory vacation, but is it legal?

08/01/2002
Continuing a cost-cutting step they took last year, some companies, especially tech firms, are again asking employees to take mandatory vacations. The forced time off, paid or not, is catching …

Payroll records: Fine-tune exempt, nonexempt timekeeping

08/01/2002
THE LAW. Federal wage-and-hour laws don’t require you to have a time clock, but they do require you to have a reliable system to keep track of employees’ hours and pay …

When to Pay for Rest Breaks

08/01/2002

Q. What’s the deal on paying workers for rest breaks? —J.S., California

Use new weapon to fight class-action wage suits

07/01/2002
It’s no secret that wage-and-hour class action lawsuits, in which mobs of employees sue for unpaid overtime, have skyrocketed. They can be enormously expensive. But a California appeals court ruling gives …