News & Opinions
Donning and Doffing Still a Confusing Issue
In the face of conflicting Circuit Court rulings related to donning and doffing, the Supreme Court simply let the lower court decisions stand — leaving donning and doffing a gray area of wage and hour law.
Read This If You Employ Temps or Contractors
If you employ temps or contractors, you could find yourself on the hook for wage and hour violations committed by your temp agency. Not good. Take steps to protect yourself, now.
Is Your Business a Victim of the Underground Economy?
Underpaid and exploited employees aren’t the only ones hurt when companies cheat them out of what they’re owed. The law-abiding businesses that try to compete with these rogue companies are put at a disadvantage, too.
Something You Don’t See Every Day
From the “unusual stories” file, comes the tale of the city that’s voluntarily paying back wages they owe to 14 workers, going back two years. The workers didn’t even realize they were entitled to the pay, and none of them had raised a complaint.
Enforcement Sweeps ID 2,078 Misclassified Workers in New York State
Back in September, New York Governor Eliot Spitzer set up a task force to crack down on companies that illegally classify employees as independent contractors. Recently state investigators conducted a series of 15 enforcement sweeps, covering 117 companies, primarily in the construction and restaurant industries. Here’s what they found.
Political Campaigns and the FLSA
Interesting question: are political campaign organizations subject to the provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act? What are the implications (if any) when senior staffers respond to a fund-raising crunch by “volunteering” to work for free?
IBM Retaliates for Wage and Hour Lawsuits by Cutting Employee Pay
In response to several wage and hour lawsuits alleging misclassification of employees, IBM agrees to reclassify 8,000 workers at non-exempt… while at the same time cutting their base pay by 15%. A good cost-cutting move, or petty retaliation?
It’s Probably Getting Worse Before It Gets Better
The US Department of Labor has announced they recovered their highest ever total of back wages in fiscal year 2007. If wage and hour issues were hot before, they’re on fire now!
NY DOL Gets Proactive
In the never-ending effort to ferret out employers flouting wage and hour laws, the NY DOL is partnering with community organizations and unions to help gather information for wage and hour investigations.
California Minimum Wage Changes Coming Up Fast
The minimum wage in California goes up to $8 an hour in 2008. If you’re a California employer, are you ready for the change?
