FLSA

MCM Grande & MCM Elegante pay $79,000 in back wages

01/07/2014

A U.S. Department of Labor Wage and Hour Division investigation has resulted in the MCM Grande and MCM Elegante hotels paying back wages and missed overtime to employees at several of its locations in Texas and New Mexico.

Words matter at work: Beware these 5 ‘lightning rod’ terms

01/07/2014

Layoff or firing? Probationary or permanent employee? Using the wrong employment-related terminology with an employee can expose your company to costly lawsuits.

Can we withhold double the cost of unreturned equipment from employee’s final paycheck?

01/03/2014

Q. Our employee handbook states, “If you do not return a piece of property we will withhold from your final paycheck the cost of replacing that piece of property.” One of our employees recently quit on the spot. My boss wants to almost double the actual replacement cost of the item. Can we do this?

Slay the wage-and-hour dragon before it breathes class-action fire

12/24/2013

Employers increasingly understand the financial burden of defending wage-and-hour class-action lawsuits—not to mention possible settlement payments or damages following unsuccessful attempts to defend those suits. There are some practical steps you can take to dodge the threat of a costly class-action lawsuit.

States, localities raising minimum wages as Fed efforts stall

12/24/2013

President Obama on Dec. 4 voiced his support for a Senate bill that would increase the national minimum wage to $10.10 per hour. House Republicans oppose it, so the measure is unlikely to pass between now and the 2014 elections. However, half of Americans already live in states and locales with higher minimum wages than the federal rate of $7.25.

U.S. Supreme Court: Key HR law rulings to watch for in early 2014

12/12/2013

The U.S. Supreme Court will hear a number of cases during the 2013-14 term that could affect employers. Look for decisions before the term ends in June 2014.

In Queens wage case, the Mythos and the reality

12/10/2013

The owners of Mythos, a Greek restaurant in Queens, have agreed to pay $329,000 in back pay and liquidated damages to 21 employees following an FLSA investigation by the DOL’s Wage and Hour Division.

How to pay if the weather outside is frightful

12/10/2013

When harsh winter weather bumps up against the FLSA, the result can be a blizzard of pay problems for you. Employees often come in late, leave early or miss work altogether when the weather is bad. How should you count their hours—and their pay?

Ignore an overtime lawsuit, hand a win to workers

12/03/2013

Can’t convince management that they shouldn’t ignore an overtime lawsuit? Share this horror story.

5th Circuit adds confusion to OT in misclassification cases

12/02/2013

It just got more complicated to calculate the overtime pay you owe a misclassified employee. In Black v. SettlePou P.C., the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals overturned a district court’s ruling concerning the proper methodology for calculating damages when an employee is misclassified as exempt.