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FLSA

Pay employees for their ‘pre-work’ work

08/01/2005
When employees arrive and prepare their workstations for the day ahead, does that count as compensable time? Yes, as one employer found out the hard way last month. Humana must pay …

Commissioned finance managers are still exempt from overtime

07/01/2005
Last year’s overtime regulations prompted many retail-industry employers to review their compensation structures. But, as the case below shows, if you’re a retailer and have commissioned employees on staff, it’s likely …

Break time: Solve confusion over whether you must pay

06/01/2005
THE LAW. Contrary to popular belief, the federal Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) doesn’t require employers to provide meal breaks or rest breaks for employees over age 18. However, several states …

Pay for uniform-Change time if job requires it

06/01/2005

Q. Do we have to pay employees for the time they spend changing into their uniforms before work (and out of their uniforms afterward)? We’re a hospital and our operating-room personnel must change clothes. —E.T., Maryland

Don’t deduct training costs from ex-Employee’s pay

05/01/2005

Q. As part of our new employees’ noncompete contracts, we’ve started including a clause that requires employees to repay the company (through payroll deduction) for training costs if they quit or are fired within one year. Are we OK legally? —S.M., Kentucky

Pay Traveling Employees for Time Actually Worked

05/01/2005

Q. How should we compensate an hourly employee for an out-of-town, two-day (9 a.m. to 5 p.m.) seminar? In particular, should we pay for the hours during the overnight hotel stay, since the employee must sleep there to be ready for the next day’s session? —N.G., North Carolina

Don’t dock pay for time-Clock mistakes

05/01/2005

Q. We dock employees’ pay by 15 minutes if they don’t punch in or out on their timecards. If this happens more than twice over any 90-day period, we write up the employee. We’ve recently been told that we shouldn’t have such a policy. Is that correct? If so, how can we make sure employees punch in? —K.K., Michigan

You can adjust salaries based on occasional business ups and downs

04/01/2005
Employees must be paid on a “salary basis” to be declared exempt from overtime pay under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). In the past, some employers tried to evade that …

High court to answer ‘donning’ and ‘doffing’ questions

04/01/2005
The U.S. Supreme Court agreed last month to take up cases that could affect your payroll practices under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), particularly if you employ people who must …

New law aims to stem the tide of mega class-action lawsuits

04/01/2005
Employers won a big victory when President Bush signed legislation
Feb. 18 that aims to inject more fairness in the class-action lawsuit arena. The Class Action Fairness Act of 2005 …