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Knock, Knock! The DOL is at the Door

The Timekeeper — Mon, 12 Dec 2011 19:54:10 +0000

Recently, the US Department of Labor (DOL) announced yet another wage and hour compliance sweep, this one targeting residential care facilities in my home state of North Carolina. This would include places such as group homes, nursing homes and other businesses that provide board and care for “children, the aged and individuals with limited self-care abilities.”

According to their release, in the past five years or so the Wage and Hour Division’s Raleigh District Office has conducted 120 investigations of residential care facilities, recovering over $980,600 in back pay for 1,077 employees. Things they suspect they’ll find this time around include:

Failure to pay for work time outside an employee’s scheduled shift,
Failure to pay for time spent attending staff meetings and employer-mandated training sessions,
Deducting 8 hours for sleep time from their pay for people working less than a 24-hour shift,
Failure to pay overtime at a time-and-a-half rate,
Taking improper deductions for uniforms and other items that cause employee pay to fall below the federal minimum wage,
And probably a whole bunch of other crazy things that would curl the average person’s hair and cause a plaintiffs’ lawyer to positively drool with delight.

So, if you’re running this kind of facility in North Carolina and have more than two employees (meaning you’re covered by the Fair Labor Standards Act – FLSA), first check out this fact sheeet on FLSA compliance for the health care industry for more information. Then get on the horn with your employment law advisor to make sure all your payroll policies and procedures are on the up-and-up.

Even if you’re not in North Carolina, if you’re in the residential care business, you’d do well to check your wage and hour policies against the law. These compliance audit sweeps have a way of spreading to other regions. (Not to mention that paying your people properly is simply the Right Thing To Do Anyway.)

After all, as the saying goes, forewarned is forearmed.

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S.F. Minimum Wage Hike

The Timekeeper — Mon, 28 Nov 2011 16:30:05 +0000

You know about the Federal minimum wage, and how states can set minimums that are higher. Did you know local authorities can do the same? For instance, San Francisco has it’s own city-wide minimum wage that’s higher than the rest of the state of California.

And now, come January 1, 2012, it’s set to go even higher. On that date, the San Francisco minimum wage will rise to $10.24 an hour. This rate applies to anybody who works more than two hours inside San Francisco city limits in the span of one work week.

So, if you’re located in or around San Francisco, or you have employees who are going to be working in the city for more than 2 hours a week after January 1, better make sure your payroll system is updated with the new rate.

Florida Minimum Wage Increase

The Timekeeper — Mon, 31 Oct 2011 16:41:26 +0000

Guess it’s that time of the year, eh? Following close on the heels of Arizona’s announcement, the state of Florida has also announced their statewide minimum wage will become $7.67 an hour, effective January 1, 2012. As this is higher than the Federal minimum wage, employers in Florida must pay the state minimum.

If you employ workers who meet the criteria for the tip credit, the minimum wage for these employees after January 1 will be $4.65 an hour. Note that this is also higher than the Federal tip credit minimum wage, so Florida employers must pay the higher state-mandated rate to eligible tipped employees. Also keep in mind, if you’re taking the tip credit and the combination of the employee’s hourly wage and their tips don’t equal at least $7.67 an hour, the employer must make up the difference.

Don’t forget! Florida employers must prominently display a revised wage poster after January 1. Updated files to enable you to print your own posters are available for free download from the Florida Department of Economic Opportunity website.

Arizona Minimum Wage Increase

The Timekeeper — Mon, 24 Oct 2011 15:40:59 +0000

Just a quick announcement: for those of you doing business in Arizona, the minimum wage in that state is set to rise to $7.65 per hour as of January 1, 2012. Be sure to adjust your payroll calculations accordingly.

The federal minimum wage remains at $7.25 an hour. States cannot specify a lower minimum wage than this; however, they can set higher minimum wage for work performed within that state.

Florida Minimum Wage Increase

The Timekeeper — Fri, 13 May 2011 18:14:26 +0000

Many Florida employers will have to implement a rare mid-year minimum wage adjustment, and all will have to display an updated wage and hour notification poster, as the state minimum wage will increase to $7.31 an hour effective June 1, 2011.

For employers who take the tip credit, the minimum cash wage for their tipped employees will increase to $4.29 an hour.

The change comes after Federal Second Circuit Court Judge Terry P. Lewis ruled the state violated the Florida Constitution by reducing the minimum wage because of deflation.

Florida employers can download the updated notification poster, which they are required to post in a place “conspicuous and accessible” to their employees, from the Agency for Workforce Innovation website.

If you have any questions about this change, I strongly urge you to consult with a qualified employment law advisor. I see stories all the time about lawsuits and DOL audits stemming from employees not being paid the proper minimum wage. I’d prefer to not read such a story about you. And I’m pretty sure you’d prefer to not have to live through something like that.

Minimum Wage Roundup

The Timekeeper — Wed, 20 Oct 2010 21:01:19 +0000

In the words of the Boy Scouts, “Be Prepared!” Minimum wage is rising in several states in 2011.

Arizona, Colorado, Montana, Ohio, Oregon, Vermont and Washington have all announced their minimum wages will go up in 2011 due to cost of living increases. If you’re an employer in one of these states, be sure to check with your employment law advisor to see if the minimum wage applies to you, and if so, when the increase will take effect.

On the other hand, Florida has announced their state minimum wage will stay the same in 2011, so you folks down there don’t need to worry about any changes on that front for awhile, at least.

National Payroll Week: Answer Survey, Win Big

The Timekeeper — Wed, 21 Jul 2010 15:46:57 +0000

It’s coming up on time for National Payroll Week 2010 — this year it’s scheduled for September 6–10. And once again, the National Payroll Association is running a survey.

Every year, the survey tracks interesting stats about payroll: how comfortable employees are that their paychecks are correct, how often they get paid, what percentage get direct deposit, and so forth… plus a few fun questions about things like celebrity pay.

All those who complete the survey by 5:00pm (Eastern) on September 10, 2010 will be entered in a drawing to win cash and a 5 day / 4 night trip to Las Vegas. The cash amount is equal to a biweekly paycheck (gross amount), based on the average weekly wages of all workers covered by state and federal unemployment insurance laws for the fourth quarter of 2009.

You can find out more about National Payroll Week by visiting the website, and click the link to take the survey (and get your chance at the prizes).

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No More DOL Opinion Letters?

The Timekeeper — Fri, 26 Mar 2010 13:51:31 +0000

In the past, I’ve advised people to look up the Opinion Letters on file at the Department of Labor website to see if any of the situations covered there apply to them, and to take advantage of this program to write for guidance if they have a specific question about a tricky aspect of wage and hour law.

Now it looks as though the DOL will no longer be issuing detailed opinion letters in response to specific situations. Instead, they’ll issue “Administrator Interpretations” — in their words, “a general interpretation of the law and regulations, applicable across-the-board to all those affected by the provision in issue.”

To that end, they’ve issued the first such Administrator Interpretation, reaffirming the Division’s long-standing position that mortgage loan officers are not administrative exempt employees.

Here’s what the DOL has to say about their reasoning behind moving away from opinion letters to these new broader “Interpretations”:

In order to provide meaningful and comprehensive guidance and compliance assistance to the broadest number of employers and employees, the Wage and Hour Administrator will issue Administrator Interpretations when determined, in the Administrator’s discretion, that further clarity regarding the proper interpretation of a statutory or regulatory issue is appropriate… Guidance in this form will be useful in clarifying the law as it relates to an entire industry, a category of employees, or to all employees. The Administrator believes that this will be a much more efficient and productive use of resources than attempting to provide definitive opinion letters in response to fact-specific requests submitted by individuals and organizations, where a slight difference in the assumed facts may result in a different outcome.

Going forward, if you request an opinion letter, they’ll point you to the relevant laws and regulations, but won’t provide specific advice. They also say they’ll retain those opinion letter requests to help them determine which topics are confusing a lot of people and might need an “Interpretation.”

If you still want more specific answers and advice, the DOL advises you can talk to a Wage and Hour Division representative personally, either by going to the nearest WHD office, or by calling the Division’s toll-free help line at 1-866-4USWAGE (1-866-487-9243). Telephone help is available weekdays from 8:00am until 8:00pm (Eastern).

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Head’s Up, Utah!

The Timekeeper — Fri, 26 Feb 2010 14:26:55 +0000

If you run a restaurant in Utah, better look sharp! According to the Deseret News, the U.S. DOL is targeting restaurants in Utah for a “concentrated enforcement effort” to ensure compliance with the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA).

They’re looking particularly at compliance with minimum wage, overtime and child labor regulations. (These are areas where many restaurants have typically fallen short of the mark in the past.)

You have been warned.

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Minimum Wage Changes in Colorado

The Timekeeper — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 13:34:52 +0000

Interesting news out of Colorado… Seems that, come January 1, 2010, the state’s minimum wage will actually drop, from its current $7.28 an hour to $7.24 an hour. I’m told this is the first time minimum wage has decreased — in any state — since minimum wage was established in the USA back in 1938.

Apparently, Colorado ties its minimum wage to inflation, same as something like nine other states. But unlike most other states, with a decrease in the cost of living, Colorado’s law allows a corresponding decrease in the minimum wage.

Keep in mind, the federal minimum wage still stands at $7.25 an hour, so even though the Colorado law sets a lower minimum, employers in the state will have to abide by the higher number. And, of course, employers aren’t obligated to reduce wages just because the minimum has gone down.