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FLSA

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.

Walmart sees light, settles overtime pay lawsuit

06/18/2012
Walmart has agreed to pay $4.8 million to settle U.S. Department of Labor charges that it misclassified employees working at vision centers in the retail giant’s stores.

Wage errors sparking more personal lawsuits

06/13/2012

Want to stop supervisors from allowing off-the-clock work or looking the other way when employees work unpaid overtime? Remind them that, unlike some other employment laws, the FLSA allows employees to sue supervisors (and HR professionals) personally—not just the organization itself.

Settlement after workers (and rabbis) say pay wasn’t kosher

06/08/2012
Brooklyn’s Flaum Appetizing has settled a long-running pay dispute with 20 Hispanic employees at its Williams­burg plant. The kosher food maker and deli agreed to pay the workers $577,000 to settle the dispute.

DOL takes tough stance on enforcing tip rules

05/25/2012
The U.S. Department of Labor has issued final regulations that specify that employees’ tips are their sole property, regardless of whether employers take the tip credit.

To win wage case, worker must do more than contest records

05/25/2012
If you keep good records of the hours workers put in, chances are you’ll be able to beat an employee’s claim that he wasn’t paid for all hours worked. He’ll have to show some evidence that your records are wrong.

Your best defense against meritless lawsuits: Proof that your processes are fair, transparent

05/25/2012
One of the best ways to stop merit­­less lawsuits dead in their tracks is to offer compelling evidence that you are a fair and equitable employer. If you can assure the court that you base your decisions on clear rules that are fairly enforced, you’ll win.

Is it OK for managers to adjust timecards?

05/24/2012

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?

When register drawers are short, may we demand repayment out of cashiers’ pockets?

05/24/2012

Q. Management wants to institute a policy requiring cashiers whose registers are short at night’s end to replace the disputed amount out of their own pockets. Would that violate the law?