Lott is a consultant who specializes in helping small businesses cope with HR regulations and compliance. His suggestions came during one of his "Please Sue Me" sessions at a recent Society for Human Resource Management convention.
Lott recommends that employers answer at least these questions during a mini-audit of wage and hours practices:
Are you sure that your exempt salaried employees qualify for the exemption? Misclassification mistakes are easy to make and expensive to fix.
Are you paying nonexempt employees overtime wages equal to one and one-half times their regular rate of pay? Remember that the "regular rate" may be more than the hourly rate if you pay certain bonuses, or shift differentials.
Are all your nonexempt employees recording all hours actually worked? Don't let them "volunteer" to work off the clock.
Are employees taking lunches at their desk or in their work area? "If they answer the phone or do other work, that's not a lunch break," Lott notes.
Are exempt employees docked for hours not worked within a workday? "Don't treat exempt like nonexempt," says Lott.
Are you granting "comp time" in lieu of overtime? "In the private sector, 'comp time' may be a problem. Check with local legal counsel to remain safe," Lott says.
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Do you have a system that auto-deducts for lunch? This is unwise since people invariably work part of lunch from time to time, answering phones or doing some other compensable work.
Are you refusing to pay unauthorized overtime? "It's one of the few absolutes in HR," says Lott. "You have to pay the overtime—authorized or not—if it's worked. You can fire for people for working unauthorized overtime," Lott notes, "but you have to pay it."
Are your exempt employees who are on furlough checking phone messages and carrying a Blackberry®? "If you put exempts on furlough," says Lott, "shut off their e-mail and computer access."
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