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Wages & Hours

Must we pay employees for unauthorized overtime when they check their messages?

08/18/2014
Q. We frequently have employees turn in time sheets with unapproved overtime—time they spend checking emails and voice mails. Do we have to pay em­­­­ployees for this time even though we have a workplace policy that prohibits unapproved overtime work?

Beware even tiny pay gaps between men and women

08/14/2014
Even a small gender-based pay differential may be­­come the foundation of a class-action lawsuit.

If worker loses equipment, can we make him pay?

08/06/2014
Q. A departing employee has failed to return certain company equipment. Can we deduct the value of this equipment from her final expense reimbursement check?

Are we liable for male-female pay disparities?

07/31/2014
Q. The company that I own has been in business since 1930. We recently performed an assessment of positions and salaries and discovered that our male executives are paid higher salaries than female counterparts. Are we liable for any unfair business practices?

Four Dallas restaurants settle DOL wage disputes

07/31/2014
Workers at four Dallas-area restaurants will receive more than $188,000 following a U.S. Depart­­ment of Labor Wage and Hour Divi­­sion (WHD) investigation. The restaurants—Yes Buffet in Grand Prairie, Royal Buf­­fet in Rowlett and Crown Buffet and Win Chi­­nese Buffet in Dallas—underpaid 61 employees.

Workweek isn’t based on consecutive days

07/31/2014

Under the FLSA, employees are entitled to overtime for hours worked over 40 in any workweek. However, the law doesn’t specify how a workweek is determined…

Can sick leave hours count toward overtime?

07/25/2014
Q. Last week, one of our hourly employees was out sick on Monday, but she worked a total of 40 hours from Tuesday through Friday. She would like to use her sick leave from Monday and claim overtime for those Monday sick-day hours. Must I pay her overtime for her Monday hours?

Legislation will end employers’ annual wage-notice scramble

07/09/2014
On June 19, 2014, New York Assembly and Senate passed legislation eliminating a Wage Theft Prevention Act requirement that employers must provide wage notices to all employees by Feb. 1 each year.

NYC construction workers gain $4.9 million in back pay

07/09/2014
The U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division has announced a settlement with federal contractor MDG Design & Construction, the prime contractor on the Grand Street Guild public housing construction project on New York’s Lower East Side.

TGI Fridays served with class-action lawsuit

07/07/2014
Hospitality giant Carlson Res­­tau­­rants, headquartered in Caroll­­ton, faces a class-action suit alleging numerous Fair Labor Standards Act violations at TGI Fridays restaurants nationwide.