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FLSA

Can I be personally liable for misclassification?

08/24/2010
Q. Let’s say I do the payroll for a company and know that we are misclassifying employees (exempt vs. nonexempt; independent contractors vs. employees). And let’s say I advised the owner, but he chose to leave it as is. Could I be held liable as the payroll administrator?

What are the new regulations on paying for time employees spend changing clothes?

08/18/2010
Q. How has the recent DOL interpretation letter addressed an employer’s obligation to pay employees for time spent changing clothes?

Military leave starts Tuesday: Pay for full week?

08/18/2010
Q. One of our exempt employees is in the Reserve. He is going on a two-week training session that starts on a Tuesday. That means he will work on Monday, the start of our week. Do we have to pay him for the whole week when he is only going to be here Monday?

DOL issues new pro-employee rules on pay for changing clothes

08/17/2010
The U.S. Department of Labor has overturned years of past guidance with new rules on when employers must pay workers for the time they spend “donning and doffing” certain work clothes. Guess what: It’s not good news for employers. Read the new DOL interpretation letter here.

Unpaid interns teach some employers a costly lesson

08/12/2010

For employers and job-seekers alike, unpaid internships seem like an attractive option. But internships come with risks. Before you begin taking on interns, do a thoughtful and careful analysis to make sure state and federal law allows you to classify an individual as an unpaid intern rather than a paid employee.

Federal judge removes lawyers in Target overtime suit

08/12/2010
Halunen & Associates will not represent any of the plaintiffs in Gifford v. Target Corp., a major class-action overtime suit, after a federal judge ruled that the firm’s previous contact with a Target official may have revealed privileged company information.

To cut your risk of FLSA overtime suits, let employees put on uniforms at home

08/12/2010
Here’s a simple risk-reduction measure for employers that require employees to wear uniforms on the job. You can reduce your chances of being on the losing end of a wage-and-hour lawsuit by giving employees the option to suit up at home.

Must we pay workers who have been suspended?

08/06/2010
Q. We recently sent an employee home for not following his supervisor’s instructions. Do we have an obligation to pay him for the full day regardless? How should we handle this situation in the future? Is this considered administrative leave?

Guard against punishing FLSA whistle-blowers

08/02/2010
The Fair Labor Standards Act makes it illegal to punish an employee who reports violations, real or perceived, to the U.S. Department of Labor. If you learn about such a report, don’t punish the messenger. Address the complaint.

DOL’s advice: Think twice before using interns as free labor

07/27/2010

On paper, internships are good for everyone. Interns learn a business and make connections in organizations where they hope to one day get jobs. In turn, businesses pay nearly nothing for work that needs to be done. However, the U.S. Department of Labor recently issued a fact sheet that casts that equation into doubt.