Tag: wages

Who’s Owed Unpaid Overtime in Your Organization?

Changes to overtime rules have been in place since 2004 , yet employers are getting tripped up for big-dollar lawsuits with increasing frequency. What’s up with that? Just a few examples from recent headlines: • McLand, a wholesale distributor of food and grocery products, pays $1.5 million in overtime to “retail merchandising specialists.” • Allied […]

Legal Issues When Reducing Employees’ Hours, Wages

by Kara Shea We’ve received many questions lately from employers facing tremendous pressure to reduce their operating expenses. Some proposed cost-cutting efforts implicate various employment laws. Since things may get worse before they get better, I’m undertaking a series of articles to address some of the issues you may encounter in the months ahead. I’ll […]

Mose Gets A Raise!

Hopefully, the folks at Dunder Mifflin took note of today’s mandated minimum wage increase required under the Fair Minimum Wage Act passed in 2007. As of today, the minimum wage is $6.55; next year, the official federal minimum wage will be increased to $7.25 per hour. While it’s unlikely that this will affect the wages […]

Are You Clear on This Week’s Minimum Wage Changes, Exemptions, Independent Contractors?

Wage and hour questions should be simple, but every comp manager knows they’re not. What to do … especially when you have to depend on low-level supervisors to manage things? First, let’s finish explaining the minimum wage change, then talk about how to keep comp in compliance. In yesterday’s Advisor, we covered states affected by […]

DOL’s Top Independent Contractor Trouble Spots

As seen in yesterday’s Advisor, the determination of independent contractor status can be tricky. Today: DOL’s top contractor problem spots, and a guide that picks up your FLSA problems before the feds do. The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) points out the following particular problem areas for employers when it comes to determining whether a […]

Are They Really Independent Contractors?

A company has an agreement with workers that labels them “independent” contractors. That means they are, right? These days, the answer is a definite … maybe. These days, organizations frequently try to increase their workforce flexibility and decrease their benefit costs by hiring independent contractors to do required work. All well and good … unless […]

A Simple Chart to Justify Overtime Exemptions

Per yesterday’s Advisor, the exempt/nonexempt designation can be terrifically important: To employees, to you, and to the government. Today we’ll look at two ways to make it simpler and easier. One of the easiest ways to deal with exemption issues is to use a chart, says attorney Tom Makris of Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman, LLP […]

FLSA Exempt vs. Nonexempt Classification: Living in Lawsuit City

Overtime FLSA lawsuits are cropping up by the dozens—what’s behind them? And more important, what can you do to protect yourself? Which of your employees are exempt from being paid overtime? Which are not? Although the exemption rules are clearly laid out by the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), in each exemption category—executive, administrative, computer, […]

More Emergency Closing Challenges—and an HR and Comp Managers’ “Multi-Tool” to Get You Through

In the last Advisor, we considered compensation challenges related to emergency closings. Today: Related hassles and the problem solver thousands of HR pros use to help them through it. In an emergency closure, ordinary procedures are usually disrupted. Here are key processes you need to have in place to keep things going: Notification Notification is […]