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Wages & Hours

Texas agencies face federal sex discrimination lawsuits

07/31/2012
The U.S. Department of Justice is suing the Texas Department of Agriculture and the Texas General Land Office for alleged pay discrimination at the now-defunct Texas Department of Rural Affairs.

How can we stop the clock on off-the-clock work?

07/30/2012

How can an employer reduce its exposure to claims for off-the-clock work if employees use their own electronic devices for business purposes?

What makes a full-time employee?

07/27/2012
Q. How many hours must employees work to be considered full time? Part time?

Employees switch shifts: Does that potentially increase our overtime liability?

07/27/2012

Q. Are employers required to pay for overtime hours that result when an employee voluntarily switches shifts with a co-worker?

Do tips count as pay for the purpose of calculating an employee’s overtime rate of pay?

07/24/2012
Q. Some of our employees receive tips from cus­­tomers. Do we need to include those tips when we calculate these employees’ rate of pay for purposes of paying them overtime?

No pay? No doubt you will face a lawsuit!

07/24/2012
Never skip a payday. That’s just asking to be sued, as the following case shows.

Hey, we just wanted the lease, not the legal bills!

07/24/2012
Sunset Car Wash had no idea it was about to be cleaned out when it took over the lease from Auto Spa Express. A court has ruled Sunset must pay back wages and penalties owed to Auto Spa’s former em­­ployees.

Does sharing employees equal sharing overtime liability?

07/19/2012
Q: A client has two stores that are separate franchises. Both stores share employees, including the store manager. How can we calculate overtime when an employee works at both stores, and how do we allocate those hours between the stores?

School’s out: Know federal, state restrictions on youth employment

07/13/2012
Summertime is when employers can capitalize on an influx of eager school-age workers looking for seasonal jobs. Summer jobs can be great for both young workers and employers, but you should be mindful of federal and state child labor laws.

Ensure you can justify gender pay disparities

07/13/2012

There may be many reasons em­­ployees end up earning different salaries for similar work. Pay disparities often grow gradually, over time. That can mean big trouble under the Equal Pay Act. If you aren’t tracking all pay changes and noting the reason, you may end up liable for sex discrimination.