Wage and hour should be the easiest job in HR, but there are a surprising number of misconceptions, and there is a surprising amount of misinformation being disseminated by savvy-sounding "experts" wandering the Internet chat sites.
Cruise HR on the Internet, and you’ll be stunned. Mixed in with accurate answers are other answers—all delivered with total confidence—that are wildly inaccurate. Today’s Advisor takes some of these wage and hour myths—and busts them. (Note that state law may differ from federal law.)
Myth #1—Employees are entitled to breaks and a meal period if they work a full day.
Busted. The federal Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) does not require breaks or meal periods be given to workers. However, if you do give breaks or meal periods, there are rules concerning payment.
Beware that some states do have meal and rest-break requirements. If you work in a state that does not require breaks or meal periods, these benefits are a matter of agreement between the employer and the employee or the employee’s representative.
Myth #2—Employees must be given 2 weeks’ notice before being terminated or laid off.
Busted. The FLSA has no requirements for notice to an employee before termination or lay-off. However, the federal Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) Act requires employers, in certain cases, to give workers advanced notice of mass layoffs or plant closures.
Some states may have requirements for employee notification before termination or lay-off.
Myth #3—You can’t work employees more than 60 hours a week.
Busted. The FLSA does not limit the number of hours per day or per week that employees aged 16 years and older can be required to work.
Myth #4—Employers are required to pay employees for federal holidays, sick days, and vacations.
Busted. The FLSA does not require payment for time not worked, such as vacations, sick leave, or holidays (federal or otherwise). These benefits are a matter of agreement between an employer and an employee or the employee’s representative.
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Myth #5—Terminated employees must be given their final check on their last day of work.
Busted. Employers are not required by federal law to give former employees their final paycheck immediately. Some states, however, do require immediate payment.
Myth #6—To be considered full-time, an employee must work a minimum of 24 hours per week.
Busted. The FLSA does not define full-time employment or part-time employment. Generally, this is a matter to be determined by the employer. Whether an employee is considered full-time or part-time does not change the application of the FLSA.
Myth #7—Employees are owed pay raises.
Busted. Pay raises are generally a matter of agreement between an employer and employee or the employee’s representative. Pay raises for employees who are already making the federal minimum wage are not required by FLSA.
Myth #8—Employers are required to offer extra pay for weekend or night work.
Busted. The FLSA does not require extra pay for weekend or night work. This is a matter of agreement between the employer and the employee or the employee’s representative. However, the FLSA does require that covered, nonexempt workers be paid not less than time and one-half the employee’s regular rate for time worked over 40 hours in a workweek.
Myth #9—Employees must be paid double time for work on holidays and weekends.
Busted. The FLSA does not require double time. This is a matter of agreement between the employer and the employee or the employee’s representative.
All you need to avoid exempt/nonexempt classification and overtime errors, now in BLR’s award-winning FLSA Wage & Hour Self-Audit Guide. Find out more.
Myth #10—Employees may not be required to perform work that is not on their job descriptions.
Busted. The FLSA does not limit the types of work employees aged 18 and older may be required to perform. However, there are restrictions on what work employees under the age of 18 can do. This is true whether or not the work asked of the employee is listed in the employee’s job description.
Myth #11—If workers receive tips greater than the minimum wage, they don’t have to get additional wages.
Busted. The FLSA sets a federal minimum wage of $7.25 per hour effective July 24, 2009 for covered, nonexempt employees. An employer of a tipped employee is required to pay only $2.13 an hour in direct wages if that amount plus the tips received equals at least the federal minimum wage, the employee retains all tips, and the employee customarily and regularly receives more than $30 a month in tips. If an employee’s tips combined with the employer’s direct wages of at least $2.13 an hour do not equal the federal minimum hourly wage, the employer must make up the difference.
Some states have their own minimum wage laws. When an employee is subject to both the federal and state wage laws, the employee is entitled to the provisions that provide the greater benefits.
In tomorrow’s Advisor, more myths busted, including some about child labor (summer’s coming), plus an introduction to a simple-to-use FLSA audit guide.