Under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, also known as the Affordable Care Act or Obamacare, most employers are required to provide one of two notices to all employees. Guidance was provided to employers by the US Department of Labor (DOL) in Technical...
Tip of the Week: Deadline Looms for Notice To Employees of Coverage Options
Under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, also known as the Affordable Care Act or Obamacare, most employers are required to provide one of two notices to all employees. Guidance was provided to employers by the US Department of Labor (DOL) in Technical...
Question of the Week: Do We Need to Include Bonuses in Overtime Calculations?
This week’s question comes from Sylvia, a payroll manager. Sylvia asks: We have employees who worked overtime this past week and received bonuses. Do we need to include bonuses in overtime calculations? Answer: The bonuses may or may not have to be included in the...
Question of the Week: What Is the Impact of Not Providing a Tip Credit Notice?
This week’s question comes from Tony, a restaurant owner. I read that restaurants should obtain a signed tip credit notice from all tipped employees. What is the impact of not providing a tip credit notice? Answer: Employers who do not provide a tip credit notice are...
Tip of the Week: Restaurants Should Obtain a Signed Tip Credit Notice from All Tipped Employees
On April 5, 2011, the US Department of Labor (DOL) issued a final rule that affects employers who have tipped employees. The rule amended a Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) regulation. All employers are required to provide certain required information to all tipped...
Prince George’s County Public Schools Agrees to Pay $4.2 Million in Back Wages
The US Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division has obtained an agreement for Maryland’s Prince George’s County Public Schools system (PGCPS) to pay $4,222,146 in back wages due 1,044 workers to resolve violations of the H-1B temporary foreign worker program....
Farmers Insurance Agrees to Pay $1.5 Million in Back Wages
Los Angeles-based Farmers Insurance Inc. (Farmers) has agreed to pay $1,520,705 in overtime back wages to 3,459 employees following an investigation by the US Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division that disclosed significant and systemic violations of the...
Question of the Week: Do We Need to Pay for Eight Hours of Work Because of the Switch to Daylight Saving Time?
This week’s question comes from Charlie, a manufacturing plant manager. We have a third shift that works from 11 pm to 7 am the following day. Some of the workers will work this Saturday night into Sunday. Do we need to pay for eight hours of work because of the...
Question of the Week: How Many Hours Do We Need to Pay for Work on the Third Shift This Saturday Night?
This week’s question comes from Meg, an HR manager. We have a third shift that works from 11 pm to 7 am the following day. Some of the workers will work this Saturday night into Sunday. How many hours do we need to pay for work on the third shift this Saturday night?...
Twelve Lawsuits Alleging FLSA Violations by Bank of America to Be Centralized in Kansas
Twelve separate lawsuits from California, Florida, Kansas, Texas, and Washington, all of which allege that Bank of America (either Bank of America, NA or Bank of America Corp.) “routinely fails to pay its employees for off-the-clock overtime work in violation of the...
Ninth Circuit Rules No Pay for Police Officers for Time Spent Donning and Doffing Uniforms and Gear
The US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit recently affirmed that police officers in the city of Mesa, Arizona were not entitled under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) to be paid for time spent donning and doffing their uniforms and protective gear, in the case...
Fair Labor Standards Act Does Not Require Pay for Hour Not Worked Due to Switch to Daylight Saving Time
Since Daylight Saving Time begins in most parts of the country at 2 am, Sunday, March 14, 2010, many workers on a third shift will only work seven hours. At 2 am on that day, clocks are turned ahead to 3 am. The Fair Labor Standards Act does not require employers to...
Department of Labor Cites Robert Ferrari, Inc. for Labor Violations at Vineland, NJ Vegetable Farm
The US Department of Labor (DOL) has announced that it has cited Robert Ferrari, Inc. for “child labor and minimum wage violations of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA).” According to the DOL, the investigation revealed both employment of individuals under the age of...
Question of the Week: Do We Need to Pay for Eight Hours of Work on the Third Shift Saturday Night?
This week’s question comes from Greg, a plant manager. We have a third shift that works from 11 pm to 7 am the following day. Some of the workers will work this Saturday night into Sunday. Do we need to pay for eight hours of work on the third shift Saturday night?...
US Department of Labor Issues Opinion Letter on Daycare Center Instructors
The US Department of Labor recently issued non-Administrator signed Opinion Letter FLSA2008-13NA. Although Opinion Letters only apply to the exact set of facts and circumstances presented in each case, they are a valuable aid in understanding current interpretations...
US Department of Labor Issues Opinion Letter on Overtime Pay Calculation
The US Department of Labor (DOL) recently issued non-Administrator signed Opinion Letter FLSA2008-12NA. Although Opinion Letters only apply to the exact set of facts and circumstances presented in each case, they are a valuable aid in understanding current...
US Department of Labor Issues Opinion Letter on Volunteering Under the FLSA
The US Department of Labor recently issued non-Administrator signed Opinion Letter FLSA2008-11NA. Although Opinion Letters only apply to the exact set of facts and circumstances presented in each case, they are a valuable aid in understanding current interpretations...
US Department of Labor Issues Opinion Letter on Cosmetology School Instructors and the Professional Exemption
The US Department of Labor recently issued Administrator signed Opinion Letter FLSA2008-9. Although Opinion Letters only apply to the exact set of facts and circumstances presented in each case, they are a valuable aid in understanding current interpretations of the...
US Department of Labor Issues Opinion Letter on Eleemosynary Activities
The US Department of Labor recently issued Administrator signed Opinion Letter FLSA2008-8. Although Opinion Letters only apply to the exact set of facts and circumstances presented in each case, they are a valuable aid in understanding current interpretations of the...
US Department of Labor Issues Opinion Letter on Substitute Teachers and the Professional Exemption
The US Department of Labor (DOL) recently issued Administrator signed Opinion Letter FLSA2008-7. Although Opinion Letters only apply to the exact set of facts and circumstances presented in each case, they are a valuable aid in understanding current interpretations of...
US Department of Labor Issues Opinion Letter on Overtime, On-call Hours
The US Department of Labor recently issued Administrator signed Opinion Letter FLSA2008-6. Although Opinion Letters only apply to the exact set of facts and circumstances presented in each case, they are a valuable aid in understanding current interpretations of the...
Delivery Men for New York Restaurants Awarded $4.6 Million
Thirty-six delivery men for various Vietnamese restaurants in New York City were awarded more than $4.6 million in back pay and damages in a recent case Ke, et al. v. Saigon Grill, Inc., et al., SDNY, 07cv2329 MHD, 10/21/2008. The court found that the defendants’...
Administrative Exemption Examples Under the Fair Labor Standards Act
Under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), employees must be paid a minimum hourly wage and an overtime premium of one and one-half times the regular rate of pay for hours worked in excess of forty per week. This is the one of a continuing series that discusses FLSA...
US Department of Labor Files Suit to Recover Overtime Wages
Following an investigation, the US Department of Labor has filed a lawsuit seeking more than $5 million in underpaid overtime. The suit was filed against CEMEX, Inc., a Houston-based provider of cement and concrete products. Employees in Arizona, California, Florida,...
US District Court Rules Lifeguards Not Eligible for Overtime
The US District Court for the District of Columbia granted summary judgment to the defendants in a lawsuit by two lifeguards seeking overtime pay. In Miroslav Ivanov, et.al., v. Sunset Pools Management, Inc., et.al., DDC, 07cv410 RJL, July 29, 2008, the two...
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