A recent California Court of Appeal decision sheds light on what formula an employer may use to calculate overtime pay for an employee who receives a flat sum attendance bonus in the same pay period it was earned. In Alvarado v. Dart Container Corp., the Court of Appeal held that an employer may follow
Favorable Decision For Employers Reinforces Importance Of Clear Policies Regarding Off-the-Clock Work
This blog post was authored by Jennifer Palagi.
It is well-settled that an employer must pay an employee wages for all off-the-clock work if the employer had actual or constructive knowledge about the work, even if the work was not authorized. The California District Court of Appeal recently issued its decision in Jong v.
Are Your IT Employees Paid Correctly?
Public agencies are subject to the Fair Labor Standards Act (“FLSA”), a federal law that regulates payment of wages. Under FLSA certain employees are “exempt,” meaning they are not entitled to be paid overtime. Navigating the FLSA exemptions can be a tricky task, but compliance is critical for employers to prevent liability. Failure to classify
The Holidays Are a Good Time to Review Regular Rate of Pay Calculations
With employees requesting time off for upcoming holidays and flu season beginning, employers should review holiday pay and sick leave buyback provisions to ensure compliance with the FLSA regular rate of pay requirements. The FLSA requires that an employee who works overtime must be compensated for those overtime hours at a rate of at least
The Importance of Being Earnest in Classifying Employees Exempt From Overtime under the Administrative, Executive and Professional Exemptions
If you think your agency has classified exempt employees correctly, you may want to take a second look. Last month, we reported on the Department of Labor (“DOL”) audit that resulted in an award of $544,715 in back wages against the San Francisco Giants. Part of that award was because the Giants classified employees as
The Importance of Adopting the Section 7(k) Overtime Exemption in the Applicable Fire Protection or Law Enforcement MOU
What is the Section 7(k) Exemption?
Unless an overtime exemption applies, the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) requires employers to pay their employees overtime compensation for any work performed in excess of 40 hours in a workweek, defined as seven consecutive days. While the white collar overtime exemptions (administrative, executive and professional) set forth in
Unpaid Internship Saga Continues
In February we reported on the growing number of lawsuits brought by unpaid interns against companies they worked with for failure to pay regular and overtime wages. The unpaid interns claim that these businesses treated them like employees. Consequently, the interns argue they should have been paid like employees as required by the federal Fair
Automatic Deduction Policies – How to Ensure They Comply with the FLSA
Many employers have chosen to implement “auto-deduct” policies, which automatically deduct a set amount of time each day or shift for an employee’s meal break. While the Department of Labor has stated that automatic deductions are lawful under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), these policies may run afoul of basic FLSA principles if employers
Can an Employer Change its Workweek to Limit its Overtime Obligations? California Court May be Out of Step
A California Court of Appeal decision recently went against existing authority interpreting the FLSA and found an employer’s change to employees’ FLSA workweeks with the purpose of limiting the employer’s overtime obligations to “evade” the overtime requirements of the FLSA. The decision has come under sharp criticism from a federal court.
Under the FLSA, an
To Pay or Not to Pay: Legality of Unpaid Internships Is Questioned
Employers have for years utilized unpaid internship programs to give students and recent college graduates a chance to gain work experience. However, since the recession began in 2008, a growing number of unpaid interns have accused their employers of exploiting them.
There are currently several class action lawsuits working their way through the courts that