Tag: Wage Hour

Gender Reassignment Surgery a Deductible Medical Expense

Expenses incurred for gender reassignment surgery and hormone therapy are now deductible medical expenses under Code Section 213. The IRS announced in Action on Decision (AOD) 2011-03 that it has acquiesced to a 2010 Tax Court ruling that these expenses are deductible. The AOD appeared in the Nov. 21 Internal Revenue Bulletin. The IRS announcement […]

$1 M in back wages recovered for NJ gas station workers

A multi-year investigation by the United States Department of Labor into violations of wage and hour laws by New Jersey gas stations has found “consistent and widespread noncompliance,” according to agency officials. The investment action recovered more than $1 million in back wages for 295 workers. In an agency statement, DOL Secretary Hilda L. Solis […]

Supreme Court to Hear Arguments on Outside Sales Exemption

The Supreme Court today agreed to hear a Fair Labor Standards Act case to decide if drug company reps should qualify for the outside sales exemption. Specifically, Christopher v. SmithKline Beecham Corp. is about whether pharmaceutical sales reps working more than 40 hours in a week are eligible for overtime under the FLSA. A key question […]

Bill Would Require Minimum Wage in Sheltered Workshops

For more than 70 years, the Fair Labor Standards Act has allowed employers to pay some workers with physical or mental impairments less than the federal minimum wage. H.R. 3086, introduced by Cliff Stearns (R-Fla.), Tim Bishop (D-N.Y.) and Gregg Harper (R-Mo.) earlier this fall, would change that. HR 3086 would phase out special wage […]

10-Year-Old Blueberry Picker Proves Costly for Employer

Federal investigators fined an Arkansas farm $8,000 for illegally hiring a 10-year old to pick blueberries and for other wage and hour violations . The Labor Department also has recovered $1,160 in back wages for four of the farm’s workers. “The laws and regulations for vulnerable young workers are very specific, and employers in violation […]

7 Must Read Comp Articles

The Top 5 Compensation Habits to Kick Most comp managers have a few bad habits, but they’re hard to break, say experts Stacey Lunches and Breaks—’Little’ Violations, But Fines Add Up Quickly In yesterday’s Advisor, we covered two of the most common wage/hour violations; today, more violations. Pay Never Goes Down? Another Bad Habit In […]

73% of Wage/Hour Investigations Result in Findings

It’s a sobering realization, says attorney Kara Shea, that DOL statistics show 73 percent of its investigations result in findings of violations, but you can push the odds in your favor. Shea, who is a member of Nashville-based law firm Miller & Martin PLLC, made her remarks at BLR’s Advanced Employment Issues Symposium, held recently […]

Huddle House Franchisees: Egg on Their Faces?

Huddle House, Inc. has agreed to pay more than $60,000 to 128 employees and to step up compliance with wage and hour laws. In addition, Labor Department officials assessed $48,317 in civil money penalties for repeat and child labor violations. The Labor’s wage and hour investigations were initiated under a multiyear enforcement initiative focused on […]

No Room for FLSA Abuses at Hilton

A Hilton subsidiary has agreed to pay more than $715,000 in back wages to 2,645 workers in four states. The agreement comes in the wake of a Labor Department investigation into the handling of payment for work done before the start of a shift. Nonpayment of pre-shift work at heart of DOL investigation Hilton “profited […]