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“Retaliation lawsuits are among the easiest to prevent,” says attorney Jody Katz Pritikin, but retaliation is a common reaction by managers who are embarrassed or angered by an employee complaint, and that means managers have to be on the watch for it. Pritikin, who offered her tips at SHRM’s Employment Law and Legislative Conference, held […]
The Administrative Exemption: it’s where the greatest number of employers go wrong and no surprise, says attorney Susan G. Fentin—it’s the broadest and most ambiguous exemption of them all. In yesterday’s Advisor, Fentin helped us understand the huge dollar risks in mistaken exemption decisions. Today, how to determine if your employees meet the tricky administrative […]
According to a recent study, uneven enforcement of the Fair Labor Standards Act — lax in some places and more stringent in others — leaves employers confused about the extent of their liability for wage and hour violations. The study, released by the Nelson A. Rockefeller Institute of Government, calls for more enforcement consistency to […]
In exemption misclassification cases, damages can be huge, says attorney Susan G. Fentin, and lawyers are lining up to bring suits against your organization. Fentin, who is a partner in the Springfield, MA offices of labor and employment firm of Skoler, Abbot & Presser, P.C., is Associate Editor of the Massachusetts Employment Law Letter. She […]
Whether an employee is exempt from the FLSA has been a turbulent topic this year, as both DOL and Congress have been issuing proposals and bills regarding exempt jobs. DOL has been involved with the status of pharmaceutical representatives, in-home caregivers and children working on farms. Although no changes have yet been made to the […]
Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. will pay almost $5.3 million in penalties, damages and back wages for overtime violations at stores nationwide, the U.S. Department of Labor said on May 1. According to the agency, 4,500 vision center managers (VCMs) and asset protection coordinators (APCs) at Wal-Mart Supercenters, Wal-Mart Discount Stores, Neighborhood Markets and Sam’s Club Warehouses were […]
As the implications of using social media in the workplace continue to loom large, not surprisingly, how such use affects information-gathering in employment law cases is gaining attention. Among the questions raised: In an employment-law dispute, can an employer subpoena an employee’s Facebook account as part of its evidence gathering? Yes, but with restrictions. Employers […]
The U.S. Department of Labor is abandoning its plan to limit when children under the age of 16 can work on farms. The plan, proposed in the fall, limited the Fair Labor Standards Act’s “parental exemption” and was intended to help reduce farm-related accidents. Introducing the now-defunct proposal, DOL officials said they were responding to […]
Employers with high-deductible health plans (HDHPs) that make it possible for employees to open health savings accounts (HSAs) have plenty of lead time to prepare for 2013. The IRS on April 27 issued Revenue Procedure (Rev. Proc.) 2012-26, which contains the HSA and HDHP limits for calendar year 2013. The HSA annual limits and the […]
Some business-related lodging expenses incurred in the vicinity of home will be deductible, if the IRS amends the rules under Code Section 162. The agency moved to do that in rules proposed on April 25. In general, the tax Code does not allow a deduction for expenses paid or incurred for lodging when not traveling away from home. […]