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Piece-rate Pay System Makes Class and FLSA Collective Action Infeasible, Says 7th Circuit

A class action allegation cannot succeed when each employee works a different schedule and has countless other fact-dependent duties and responsibilities. For one employer, thousands of employees with varied work schedules and pay rates could not demonstrate “class” status for Fair Labor Standards Act purposes. This was particularly true when the employees were paid on […]

Splitting Up Meal Breaks: A Bad Idea

Our subscribers often ask us if they can split up an employee’s meal break. For example, if an employee has a meeting or training session that interferes with the 30-minute lunch break, can you as an employer have the person take 15 minutes after five hours worked, and then take the other 15 minutes later […]

CBO: Fewer employers would offer insurance under Obamacare replacement

On March 13, the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO) released its cost estimate of the effects of the proposed Affordable Care Act (ACA) repeal and replace legislation. Deficits down, but number of uninsured up According to the CBO and the Joint Committee on Taxation (JCT): The legislation would reduce federal deficits by $337 billion from […]

Terminated Employee Was Not a Whistleblower, Court Says

Is every employee who makes a formal complaint considered a “whistleblower”? The federal District Court says no. Mark Shulthies, a long time Amtrak employee working in California, sent an email to his supervisor complaining that the company’s decision to reorganize certain aspects of its service between the Bay Area and Bakersfield posed a “danger to […]

Who’s in Control: 3rd Circuit Looks at FLSA’s Joint Employer Test

When a worker is employed by two or more separate employers, this normally presents no special problems under the Fair Labor Standards Act. But even where the employee works for an entirely separate employer, there may still be a question of whether two employers are so entangled as to create a “joint employment” relationship where […]

Individual privacy rights trumped by union’s freedom of expression

By Lorene Novakowski and Brandon Wiebe On November 15, 2013, the Supreme Court of Canada ruled that a union’s right to collect, use, and disclose personal information for legitimate labor relations purposes outweighs an individual’s right to privacy. In so doing, it declared Alberta’s Personal Information Protection Act (PIPA) unconstitutional but suspended the declaration for […]

Gauge Your Midyear Progress with These 5 Questions

Believe it or not, as I write this, the first half of 2015 has come to an end. That’s right, the year is half over, and it’s a good time to mark your progress. Are you well on your way to achieving the goals—both personal and professional—you set for yourself this year? We have flipped […]

So What Are You Doing Later This Week?

Maybe you’ve got the usual lined up: a few (probably more than a few) meetings, some “repeat offender” employees who need to be whipped into shape yet again, piles and piles of paperwork, questions from above and below about all kinds of matters big and small.

The One Interview Technique that Gets Real Answers

In real estate it’s location, location, location, and in interviewing it’s probe, probe, probe. Typically the candidate’s first answer to your interview questions will be reasoned and impressive—and well rehearsed. It’s by probing deeper that you’ll get real insight. Asking probing questions is the key to eliciting meaningful information from well-prepared applicants. Here’s an example […]