Common Mistakes and How to Avoid Them in FLSA Compliance The Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) of 1938 was a monumental piece of labor legislation that forever changed the face of business in America. For one, it established a national minimum wage (25 cents) for the first time. For another, it mandated the payment of overtime wages for most employees who do not fall under certain exempt categories. Finally, it regulated child labor on a nationwide basis, another first. In fact, that legislation spawned the appearance of mandated labor law posters in the workplace. Then, as additional labor and employment laws were passed over the decades, including the landmark Civil Rights Act of 1964 and then the Occupational Safety and[…]

When an employee believes that he or she has not been properly paid the minimum wage or overtime they may file a complaint for back wages under the Fair Labor Standards Act with the Department of Labor. The federal government set the minimum wage at $7.25 per hour. And when an employee works more than 40 hours in a week, he or she must be paid at a rate of 1 ½ times the regular rate of pay. However, it is important to note that not all employees are subject to the wage and hour rules of the FLSA. The FLSA only applies to non-exempt employees. The FLSA exempts an employer from both minimum wage and overtime pay for certain[…]

While many states, including Pennsylvania, have implemented laws the ban texting while driving, the federal government has also thrown its hat into the ring. The Occupational Safety & Health Administration (OSHA) has implemented a Distracted Driving Initiative, which will focus on texting while driving. OSHA calls upon all employers to ban texting while driving and remove any practice or policy that requires or encourages workers to text while driving. The first part of OSHA’s call to action is certainly easy to implement. Simply add a section in your employee handbook prohibiting texting while driving (and maybe take it a step further by prohibiting cell phone use in general while driving) and ensure that all of your employees are aware of[…]

Tax day is past, and now everyone can start worry about being audited. And while you may be worried about an IRS audit, you shouldn’t forget about the Department of Labor. The Fair Labor Standards Act gives the DOL’s Wage and Hour Division broad investigative authority to review employer records and conduct on-site inspections. Luckily, you can take some steps to prepare for a DOL audit and avoid a great deal of trouble (and expense) down the line. Review Job Descriptions You should be reviewing job descriptions periodically, just to make sure that the description matches the position. When conducting your wage and hour audit, you need to ensure that the people you are classifying as exempt are actually exempt.[…]

The Fair Labor Standards Act requires you to pay your employees for time they actually spend working, whether they’re working on your property, at a client’s property, at home or anywhere else.  When evaluating whether wages are owed to your employees, the key inquiry is whether the employee is actually engaging in work. Some businesses, particularly those in the medical field or other fields where emergencies arise, have employees  “on call” for a certain period of time in addition to their actual work day. Under some circumstances, you may need to pay your on-call employees for their on-call time. When determining whether your employees’ on call time is compensable requires a case-by-case analysis. For example, if your is required to[…]