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FLSA

What are the perils of inconsistent comp time?

06/28/2012
Q. Our employee manual doesn’t address compen­satory time off, but we have offered certain exempt managers an hour of comp time for every hour of overtime worked. Do we have to pay them for accrued comp time when we terminate them? In the past, we’ve paid comp time to some, but not to ­others. Can we negotiate our own terms with each employee?

Thinking about shrugging off employee suit? Then think about writing a really big check

06/27/2012
Here’s a caution for employers tempted to ignore a wage-and-hour lawsuit: Do so and you might as well just admit to the employees’ allegations. All the court has to do is determine the damages—plus figure out how much in legal fees the employer owes the employees.

Make sure time records can withstand scrutiny

06/27/2012

Employers are responsible for keeping track of the hours and minutes their employees work. If they can’t show their records are accurate, an underpaid overtime case can get costly. That’s because—absent reliable employer records—courts will let employees fill in the timekeeping details.

How should we handle nonexempt pay for overnight, off-site meeting trips?

06/25/2012
Q. We sometimes require our hourly employees to commute from the office to a two-day meeting that includes company-sponsored social activities and an overnight stay. They then return to the office after meetings on the second day. How do we pay them for this time?

7th Circuit: Clothes-changing, travel time are not compensable

06/25/2012
In Sandifer v. U.S. Steel Corp., the 7th Circuit held that an employer wasn’t required to pay employees for time spent changing into and out of work clothes and time spent traveling to and from the locker room and the work area.

When computing employee pay, are we allowed to round off employee working hours?

06/20/2012
Q. My company uses a time clock to track the hours of nonexempt employees. When we determine the wages to be paid to employees, can we round up or down to the nearest five-minute increment?

Overtime violations cost Downey nursing firm $654,082

06/20/2012
A lawsuit prompted by a DOL investigation has resulted in a court order requiring Extended Health Care Inc. of Downey to pay $654,082 to 108 nurses who alleged they missed out on overtime pay in violation of the Fair Labor Standards Act.

Yelp! squawks, but settles OT suit for $1.25 million

06/20/2012
A settlement has ended a class-action wage-and-hour suit filed on behalf of nearly 1,000 employees at Yelp!, the website that allows consumers to submit reviews of  restaurants, stores and health care professionals.

Can we give comp time instead of overtime pay?

06/20/2012
Q. Things are still tight, but our company is picking up. We’d like to have our employees work extra hours in exchange for extra time off when we finally can hire more staff. Can we do this?

Supreme Court ‘pharma sales’ ruling could have broad FLSA implications

06/19/2012
The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that pharmaceutical sales representatives are indeed outside salespeople under the terms of the Fair Labor Standards Act. It’s a decision that could have far-reaching effects on other wage-and-hour issues. And it’s a big win for employers, regardless of the industries in which they work.