If you are a regular reader of this blog, you are probably familiar with the six-factor test that the U.S. Department of Labor uses to determine whether an intern should be considered an employee for purposes of the Fair Labor Standards Act. (If not, DOL Fact Sheet # 71 provides a summary, and we explained
Moving Exempt Employees to Non-Exempt Status [Wage & Hour FAQs]
We discuss the misclassification of non-exempt employees regularly here on the blog and in our presentations at conferences and webinars, but a reader of the blog wrote me before the holiday weekend to ask about the reverse situation. The reader’s company has previously determined (correctly, we’ll assume) that some of its employees meet the “computer
You Load 16 Tons, What Do You Get: A Worthless Franchise!
Despite the focus in recent years on the misclassification of employees as contractors, unfortunately, we continue to see numerous companies ranging from the Fortune 500 to startups make mistakes, albeit mostly unintentional, with their use of “contractors.” Generally, these mistakes are because of misunderstandings (“We agreed to do it this way.”), myths (“She works two
DOL’s Misclassification Initiative Continues
Iowa is the latest State to sign a Memorandum of Understanding and join forces with the U.S. Department of Labor to combat employee misclassification. Although Labor Secretary Solis has announced her resignation, it appears that the Misclassification Initiative that she championed continues, at least for now.
As mentioned in a previous post, these Memorandums
Family Dollar Settles Store Manager Overtime Claim
On September 12, 2012, Family Dollar announced that it will pay up to $14 million to settle a class action in the Southern District of New York. Similar to other class actions filed against Family Dollar over the years, New York store managers claimed that the Company failed to pay them overtime. Although the agreement
Wage and Hour Lawsuits Continue to Soar
I read this morning that there have been 7,064 lawsuits filed under the Fair Labor Standards Act so far this year. I believe this is a record for wage and hour violation claims and the year is only half over. This is also nearly sixty more FLSA lawsuits than was filed in all of 2011
Court Rejects Challenge to DOL’s Interpretation That Mortgage Loan Officers are Non-exempt
I wanted to give our readers a quick update on the status of mortgage loan officers. In Mortgage Bankers Ass’n v. Solis, a federal district court in Washington D.C. recently rejected a challenge to the March 2010 DOL administrator’s interpretation that mortgage loan officers do not generally meet the administrative exemption under the FLSA. As
Recent Settlements Agreeing to Pay Overtime for Misclassification of Employees
Misclassification of employees continues to bring a lot of headaches to employers. I have worked with a wide variety of businesses on this issue – from Fortune 500 to “mom and pop” companies. Each has its own way of doing things in this area and monitoring classification compliance is pretty low on the to-do list.
Ten Things Small Business Needs To Know About Minimum Wage and Overtime
I read the stories every day: some small business, often a local restaurant or a similar “mom and pop” operation, gets sued or tagged by the Department of Labor for failing to pay minimum wages and overtime to employees. Here’s just one example.
I have worked with a fair number of small and midsize
Louisiana Joins the DOL’s Misclassification Initiative
Louisiana is the latest State to sign a Memorandum of Understanding and join forces with the U.S. Department of Labor to combat employee misclassification. These Memorandums of Understanding with state government agencies arose as part of the U.S. Department of Labor’s Misclassification Initiative, with the goal of preventing, detecting and remedying employee misclassification. Louisiana is