Posted on 16-Mar-09 by The Timekeeper

Hilda Solis, the child of immigrants and our nation’s first Latina Secretary of Labor, was sworn in by Vice President Joe Biden in a ceremony on Friday, March 13.

In her remarks following her swearing-in, Ms. Solis promised “tough enforcement, transparency, cooperation and balance,” saying, “Let me be clear, there is a new sheriff in town.”

Two sections within the DOL that are slated for big increases under the new federal budget are the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) and the Wage and Hour Division (the division that investigates, among other things, violations of minimum wage and overtime provisions of the law).

What does this mean for us? Well, if you’re a small-business owner who’s been counting on getting away with FLSA violations by simply flying under the radar — assuming you’re “too small” for the DOL to worry about, or counting on lax oversight to let you get by with it — you might want to rethink that tactic.

And if you’re not sure where you stand with FLSA compliance, now’s the time to get yourself set up. For starters:

• Make sure you have a good time and attendance tracking system in place (preferably something a bit more robust than hand-written timesheets, although to be sure those are better than nothing). There are no excuses for this, even during hard times. Especially during hard times, when fines and penalties for inaccurate or inadequate records can be devastating to a small business. You can get excellent professional-quality software for less than $100 or a sturdy, reliable employee punch clock for less than $300, so go out there and find something that meets your needs, install it, and use it. You may find it actually saves you time and money on payroll preparation, which is a nice bonus. In fact, most people who install automated computer-based time and attendance find the savings on payroll prep mean the system pays for itself in a matter of months. Sweeeet.
• Conduct a thorough labor audit, preferably in conjunction with your attorney (attorney-client privilege will help keep the results of your audit being used against  you if you find any problems). And fix any issues the audit uncovers, of course.
• Verify that your employee handbook (if you have one) doesn’t set you up for lawsuits by inadvertently establishing an employment contract between you and your employees (check with your attorney to make sure you’re in the clear on this).

No point in antagonizing the new sheriff and her deputies right off the bat, eh?

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