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Wages & Hours

Employee filed incorrect pay complaint? It’s still protected

05/31/2013
Here’s a new twist on protected activity and retaliation: Apparently an employee can complain about wage-and-hour issues to the wrong agency—even one that has nothing to do with enforcing labor laws—and still gain protection from retaliation.

Farmer to pay back wages to migrant workers

05/31/2013
J. Roland Wood Farms, a Benson tobacco and sweet potato grower, has paid nearly $21,000 in back pay and penalties to 138 migrant workers following a DOL investigation into violations of the Migrant and Seasonal Agricultural Worker Protection Act.

Walmart pay saga continues with appeal to Pa. Supreme Court

05/28/2013

Retail giant Walmart has appealed to the Pennsylvania Supreme Court, asking it to overturn a $187.6 million class-action verdict issued two years ago. That decision followed a 32-day trial in 2006 that sent shock waves through the Pennsylvania employer community.

OK to vary pay–as long as there’s no sex bias

05/28/2013
Employees are supposed to receive the same compensation for the same work regardless of sex. But that doesn’t mean you can’t pay some men more than some women, even if it’s crystal clear that they’re doing the exact same job. That’s because the Equal Pay Act allows for differences that can be accounted for by any factor other than sex.

Hey, kid, get a job! Rules for employing teens

05/27/2013
If you’re tempted to say that to the teenagers in your house, and thankful that someone else will be employing them this summer, remember that somewhere out there other parents are saying the very same thing to their teens. And you may end up employing them.

Women earn $24K less

05/24/2013
Women earn an average of $44,400 annually, compared to $68,300 for men, according to a study by CareerBuilder and Economic Modeling Specialists.

San Jose minimum wage increases to $10 per hour

05/20/2013
The San Jose Minimum Wage Ordinance, which took effect on March 11, raised the minimum wage for “covered employees” to $10 per hour. A “covered em­­ployee” is anyone who works two or more hours per week within the city limits.

Is it OK to volunteer for your own nonprofit?

05/10/2013
Q. I work for a nonprofit organization. Several hourly employees of the organization volunteer during nonworking hours. Is that OK?

St. Paul Chamber musicians, management achieve harmony

05/10/2013
After being locked out since Oct. 21, 2012, musicians with the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra are prepared to complete a shortened season with a smaller contingent. A tentative agreement ending the lockout cuts the orchestra from 34 members to 28 and lowers the guaranteed minimum salary to $60,000—19% less than the previous contract that expired last September.

Sugar lockout comes to sweet conclusion for employer

05/10/2013
The 20-month-long American Crystal Sugar lockout is finally over. In April, 55% of the members of the Bakery, Confectionery, Tobacco Workers and Grain Millers Local 167G ratified a contract that closely resembles a deal they rejected on four previous votes.