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FLSA

Lack of time records voids exemption argument

10/01/2001
No matter how long it took Tracy Klinedinst to paint a car, he was paid based on a standard industry estimate used by auto repair shops and insurance adjusters. While his …

Beware of sick leave policies that allow pay reduction of exempt

10/01/2001
To protect employee exemptions from overtime, make sure your sick leave policy defines which classifications would not be subject to pay deductions. In 1997, the U.S. Supreme Court said employees …

Keep staff on site, but off clock, during meals

09/01/2001
Corrections officers in Pima County, Ariz., couldn’t run out to Burger King at lunch. During their half-hour lunch break, they were relieved of their duties but still had to stay on …

Overtime: Pay it now or pay it after a lawsuit

09/01/2001
Before you pile extra work on employees without paying overtime, make sure you’ve correctly classified your workers. A California jury recently ordered Farmers Insurance Exchange to pay overtime to 2,400 …

Timecard Adjustments OK

09/01/2001

Q. Our employees punch a time clock and then go to job sites. Sometimes they don’t take a lunch break. But when they do, they’re unable to clock out and back in, so there’s no time record. Can a manager adjust the timecard by marking through the daily total and deducting the lunch time? –A.P., Virginia

Beware OT Calculation When It Involves Bonus Pay

09/01/2001

Q. We have an add-on to wages of $100 if an employee who’s not scheduled to work gets called in within 72 hours. The employee gets paid for the hours worked at his normal wages, with time and a half if it adds up to overtime. The $100 is then added for the hours worked, and taxes are calculated on these earnings as usual. Is this a legal way of rewarding employees for coming in on short notice? –J.S., Oklahoma

Partial-week suspensions can strip workers’ exempt status

08/01/2001
Los Angeles and its Department of Water and Power occasionally suspended salaried employees without pay, and now it may have to pony up overtime for groups of employees. The …

FLSA Limits Work Done by Volunteers, Unpaid Interns

08/01/2001

Q. I run a small advertising office. A college student has asked to join our staff for the summer. She proposed to work every day for a couple months at no cost. It would be great to get some free help. Is there anything wrong with hiring her? —G.I., Maryland

During FMLA, you can pay exempt workers by the hour

07/01/2001
The job description for Doris Rowe’s position as a bus company supervisor noted the job was “FLSA: EXEMPT.” She was paid a fixed salary every two weeks regardless of the number …

Continuing deductions slams correction window shut

06/01/2001
Don’t wait until someone questions his exempt status to check whether you’ve been making improper pay deductions and then try to correct the situation. Although there’s a “window of correction” …