Practical HR Tips, News & Advice. Updated Daily.
By Michael Futterman, J.D. and Jaime Touchstone, J.D. Performance Team Freight Systems is a motor carrier company involved in warehousing, shipping, and distributing merchandise from the ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles to locations throughout California. Performance Team retained truck drivers as “independent contractors” to transport goods. From 2012 to 2014, a number of […]
by Tammy Binford The U.S. Department of Labor’s (DOL) proposed rule greatly expanding the number of workers eligible for overtime pay has been submitted to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review, a necessary step before the rule can be finalized.
Supervisors who direct employees to work during unpaid meal periods could be putting their employer at risk for a costly wage and hour lawsuit. Proper training can help educate supervisors about federal and state law regarding the compensability of meal periods and, in the process, minimize the legal risk.
An employee was sent home for a company policy violation. Can the supervisor send her home for a week with the employee’s option to use her PTO otherwise the week will be without pay? There haven’t been any written warnings nor do we have this discipline action in any handbook.
By Elizabeth Bowersox, JD The number of overtime and minimum wage claims filed against employers under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) continues to rise, and with that hike comes an increased risk of FLSA retaliation claims.
Under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), employers must pay employees at least the minimum wage for all hours worked. This sounds simple enough. But what does “hours worked” mean in this context? Does it mean just the hours that the employee is scheduled? What about time spent on call? What about break time? What […]
The U.S. Department of Labor’s (DOL) proposed rule greatly expanding the number of workers eligible for overtime pay has been submitted to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review, a necessary step before the rule can be finalized. The new rule is expected to make nearly five million workers lose their exempt status […]
By Amelia J. Holstrom, JD Massachusetts law, like federal law, requires employers to pay hourly employees overtime compensation for all hours worked in excess of 40 in a workweek. Under Massachusetts law, however, if an employee succeeds on a claim for unpaid overtime, she is automatically entitled to recover triple damages.
By Richard J. Morgan, JD The U.S. 4th Circuit Court of Appeals (which covers Maryland, North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia, and West Virginia) recently addressed a case in which two tipped employees disputed the pay they received from their employers.
We have an employee who has had excessive absences this year (over a dozen). All employees are given three sick days annually. Our policy says that if you (the employee) are absent with sick pay you will have 20% of your commission reduced. If you are absent but have no more sick pay accrual, you […]