Q. A company provides employees with a 30-minute unpaid lunch break. An employee, who is a smoker, has asked if she can take two 5-minute unpaid smoking breaks – one in the morning and one in the afternoon – and reduce her unpaid lunch break to 20 minutes. Is this allowed?
A. No. Under the
By now most of you who follow developments in employment law have likely heard about and possibly read the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Wal-Mart v. Dukes, overturning certification of a class action sex discrimination case brought on behalf of 1.5 million current and former female Wal-Mart employees. (If not, our recent FR Alert on this case will get you up to speed.) While Dukes is a sex discrimination case, it is likely to have a major impact upon class actions in other areas of the law, including wage and hour lawsuits.
Continue Reading What Wal-Mart v. Dukes Means for Wage & Hour Law, Employers
On April 5, 2011, the U.S. Department of Labor published new final regulations that among other things require employers to give new detailed notices to tipped employees in order to credit tips toward the minimum wage. The new regulations took effect on June 5, 2011. Yesterday, June 16, 2011, the National Restaurant Association, the
Two federal agents arrive at your workplace and ask to interview all of your employees and see all of your payroll records for the last two years. Their business cards say that they are investigators from the U.S. Department of Labor Wage & Hour Division. What do you do?
The unannounced on-site visit is a
http://frwebgate.access.gpo.gov/cgi-bin/usc.cgi?ACTION=BROWSE&TITLE=29USCC8&PDFS=YES
Continue Reading Fair Labor Standards Act/FLSA
http://www.access.gpo.gov/nara/cfr/waisidx_10/29cfrv3_10.html
Continue Reading FLSA Regulations
Is Groupon’s June 3 announcement of its intent to launch an IPO a sign of another looming “tech bubble” or an “entrepreneurial renaissance”? Either way, entrepreneurs seeking to ride the next wave of technological innovation must be aware of the significant personal risks arising from failing to comply with wage and hour laws.
Can’t pay your suppliers or rent on the swanky new office space you rented to impress potential venture capital investors? If the business fails, at least the budding entrepreneur might be able to avoid or limit personal liability for these unpaid debts. Not so for unpaid wages owed to employees. Continue Reading Entrepreneurs Beware of Personal Liability for Wage & Hour Violations
http://www.franczek.com/news-events-175.html
Continue Reading Are You Ready for a Wage & Hour Audit?
As summer break is about to begin, there is a significant decrease in the number of paid summer jobs available for students. As an alternative, there are a number of students hoping to land internships in the private sector. Given the number of students vying for these positions and the country’s continued slow economic
Despite the tremendous amount of federal and state law governing the employment relationship, a business that follows the following core values can avoid significant liability under most labor and employment laws:
But Wage and Hour Law is Different!
Unlike most employment laws, which give employers and employees a fair amount of flexibility to come up with mutually beneficial and fair employment relationships, the FLSA and state wage and hour laws set out a strict rules which usually cannot be altered even if doing so would be best for both the employer and employee. Continue Reading Why is Wage & Hour Law Different from Other Employment Laws?