Just because it’s the holiday season does not mean employers can relax their vigilance on wage and hour issues. The U.S. Department of Labor has its own list of who’s been naughty or nice (by its standards), and employers that run afoul of the agency could find a lump of coal in their stocking.
Yesterday, DOL put employers on notice that it is closely watching seasonal employment issues this year with release of a new fact sheet entitled, “Holiday Season Employment Information.”
The fact sheet is designed to guide both employees and employers through the Fair Labor Standards Act requirements that apply to part-time and seasonal employment situations, said Nancy Leppink, deputy administrator of DOL’s Wage and Hour Division, in a blog post.
The fact sheet includes frequently asked questions about part-time and seasonal employment that cover topics ranging from scheduling issues to child labor laws. It can be challenging for employers to navigate the rules around the holidays, but as the fact sheet points out, the FLSA applies to all workers regardless of part- or full-time status. Therefore, employers should make sure they are following all applicable provisions and requirements regarding overtime and other issues.
The agency also recently announced an example of the pall FLSA noncompliance can place over an employer’s holiday. DOL filed a lawsuit in late November against the Christmas Light Co. in the Northern District of Texas to recover $240,000 in minimum wage and overtime back wages, plus an additional amount in liquidated damages for alleged FLSA violations.
Following an investigation by DOL’s Wage and Hour Division, the agency filed the lawsuit to recover wages and damages on behalf of 233 employees that installed and removed lights for the company. The agency alleges that the company paid employees a flat rate for installing and removing Christmas lights, regardless of the number of hours worked. In most cases workers were simply paid a straight time wage for hours worked over 40 per week, instead of the required time and one-half overtime rate. FLSA-required records were also not kept. The complaint was filed in the Northern District of Texas.
For more information about complying with the FLSA during the holidays, and all year, go to http://hr.complianceexpert.com/.