Recently the U.S. Department of Labor revamped its enforcement data website, http://ogesdw.dol.gov/, adding some snazzy new map displays showing inspection and violation data from OSHA and the Mine Safety and Health Administration.
Can An Employer Pay An Exempt Employee Extra Compensation? [Wage & Hour FAQ]
My Company anticipates embarking on a big project this fall that will have extreme importance to the Company’s future and require extra hours at the office. The Company wants to give a little extra pay to employees who work on this important project. A number of these employees are classified as exempt. May the Company provide extra compensation to exempt employees for their work on this project?
Are Pharmaceutical Companies Losing the Exemption Battle?
Recently, another group of pharmaceutical sales representatives successfully demonstrated that they are not exempt from overtime under the FLSA. Kuzinski, et al., v. Schering Corp Focusing on the administrative exemption, the District Court of Connecticut held that the sales representatives’ work was not directly related to Schering’s management or general business operations and they lacked the necessary exercise of discretion and independent judgment to meet the requirements of the exemption. The sales representatives did not directly sell pharmaceutical products, instead individualizing Schering’s canned sales pitch to promote certain products to identified customers. At the end of the day, the sales representatives simply used the core messages and promotional strategies developed by Schering, rather than developing those messages and strategies themselves.
The Myth of “Unauthorized” Overtime
Has something like this ever happened in your organization? You have a solid non-exempt employee working hard on a project. His supervisor is out of town and unreachable. In the supervisor’s absence, to get the job done, he works a few hours of overtime. When the supervisor gets back, he asks if she will approve the extra time he has already worked. The supervisor says yes, but adds that if the employee had asked ahead of time she probably would have told him not to work overtime on this particular project. The employee responds apologetically and says that he won’t put in for the overtime pay.
Do We Have to Pay Employees for Checking E-Mail Outside of Work? [Wage & Hour FAQ]
Our company provides remote access to e-mail for all employees, and some of our hourly employees carry iPhones and Blackberries with access to their work e-mail. Most non-exempt employees only work during regular business hours, but some will occasionally check and respond to e-mail after hours or on weekends. Do we need to pay employees for this time? If so, how do we track it?
Tenth Circuit Rules Donning and Doffing Protective Equipment Held to be Compensable
The question of whether to pay employees for putting on protective gear has plagued employers for years. While the federal courts are divided over this issue, at least five Appellate Courts – the Fourth, Sixth, Seventh, Eleventh and now the Tenth Circuits – have held that personal protective equipment is included within the meaning of “clothes†under Section 203(o) of the FLSA, and thus not compensable.
When does the FLSA require pay for meal periods? [Wage & Hour FAQ]
Q. A company provides employees with a 30-minute unpaid lunch break. An employee, who is a smoker, has asked if she can take two 5-minute unpaid smoking breaks – one in the morning and one in the afternoon – and reduce her unpaid lunch break to 20 minutes. Is this allowed?
What Wal-Mart v. Dukes Means for Wage & Hour Law, Employers
By now most of you who follow developments in employment law have likely heard about and possibly read the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Wal-Mart v. Dukes, overturning certification of a class action sex discrimination case brought on behalf of 1.5 million current and former female Wal-Mart employees. (If not, our recent FR Alert on this case will get you up to speed.) While Dukes is a sex discrimination case, it is likely to have a major impact upon class actions in other areas of the law, including wage and hour lawsuits.
Restaurant Association Sues to Block Tip Credit Rules
On April 5, 2011, the U.S. Department of Labor published new final regulations that among other things require employers to give new detailed notices to tipped employees in order to credit tips toward the minimum wage. The new regulations took effect on June 5, 2011. Yesterday, June 16, 2011, the National Restaurant Association, the Council of State Restaurant Associations and the National Federation of Independent Businesses filed a lawsuit against the DOLseeking to block enforcement of the new rules. National Restaurant Association v Solis (PDF).
What To Do When the DOL Makes an Unannounced Visit
Two federal agents arrive at your workplace and ask to interview all of your employees and see all of your payroll records for the last two years. Their business cards say that they are investigators from the U.S. Department of Labor Wage & Hour Division. What do you do?
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