It’s Not Just Overtime
Posted on 04-Apr-08 by The Timekeeper
Sometimes, reading this blog you might get the idea when it comes to avoiding wage and hour problems the only thing small business owners need worry about is overtime payments.
Sure, it’s true most wage and hour judgments are related to unpaid overtime. According to the US DOL Wage & Hour Division, something like 90% of the FLSA back wages they collected in 2007 were related to unpaid overtime. But as this article from The Press-Enterprise explains, you’ve got a lot more to consider than just overtime.
Two other hot areas are lunch / break times and travel times. Do you pay employees for travel time? Do you allow them adequate paid lunch and break times, free from work responsibilities?
Sometimes employees want to skip their lunch period and/or breaks — perhaps so they can leave early to attend a family function or other important event. Or maybe they want to work an alternative schedule, say, 10 hours a day for four days so they can have an extra day off.
And you, as their employer, may really want to accommodate them. The problem is, depending on your locale, the law may not allow you to (or at least, may not allow you to in the way you want).
No matter how honorable your intentions, you could still find yourself in trouble if you’re not careful. I see too many stories coming across my desk of well-meaning employers being assessed huge fines and back wage penalties because they tried to accommodate their employees’ desire for flexibility — only, in ways the law doesn’t allow.
Word to the wise: before you implement any flexible work arrangements, or allow any accommodations such as skipping breaks or lunch, check with your lawyer and make sure you’re doing so in a way that’s not going to put you on the wrong side of the law.
The last thing you need is the DOL auditors knocking on your door simply because you tried to be nice to your employees.
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