It’s the fourth quarter. Three seconds are left on the clock, and your team is losing by one point. Your place kicker confidently trots onto the field to attempt the game-winning field goal. As he does, the TV announcer says,...more
In a boon for employers with exempt employees, the Third Circuit held earlier this year as an issue of first impression that paid time off (PTO) is not part of an exempt employee’s salary under the federal Fair Labor...more
The Third Circuit recently highlighted the flexibility afforded to employers when providing fringe benefits to salaried exempt employees. In Higgins v. Bayada Home Health Care Inc., No. 21-3286, 2023 WL 2518345 (3d Cir. Mar....more
In an issue of first impression, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit held that paid time off (“PTO”) is not a form of salary under the Fair Labor Standards Act (“FLSA”) and, therefore, deductions from a salaried...more
Most employers are well aware that employees must be paid on a “salary basis” to be considered exempt from the overtime requirements of the Fair Labor Standards Act (“FLSA”). ...more
How many readers have confronted the following scenario: Employer provides a paid meal break to its employees (for ease of application, we are going to suggest the paid meal break is 30 minutes in length); Employees...more
Many employers require their employees to bear certain employment-related costs. For instance, an employer might require its employees to purchase work uniforms, safety glasses or other items for use in the workplace....more
The answer to this question depends – is the employee exempt or non-exempt? And, if non-exempt, will the deduction reduce her compensation below the minimum wage or affect her overtime compensation?...more
Most are familiar with Bill Murray’s classic comedy, “Groundhog Day,” in which egotistical weatherman Phil Connors repeatedly re-lives the date of February 2, 1993. At first, Connors relishes replicating the same events each...more
The federal Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) establishes minimum wage and overtime requirements, period. The FLSA does not explicitly require that employers cover all work-related costs, nor, does it do so by specifically...more
It’s hard to keep up with all the recent changes to labor and employment law. While the law always seems to evolve at a rapid pace, there were an unprecedented number of changes each month in 2017—and if January is any...more
Technology seems to be advancing faster than we can keep up. These advances impact the employer community as well—even regarding basic things such as how, when, and in what manner wages are paid. Take two recent examples...more
With less than a day before the federal government's appropriated funding runs out, confidence in avoiding a potential shutdown is waning. Because of that, contractors should exercise prudence and immediately begin...more
On January 5, 2018, the Department of Labor (“DOL”) Wage and Hour Division re-issued 17 previously withdrawn DOL Opinion Letters addressing over a dozen topics under the Fair Labor Standards Act (“FLSA”). The DOL originally...more
In late June 2017, the United States Department of Labor (DOL) announced it would be reinstating Opinion Letters issued by its Wage and Hour Division, which was a practice that had ceased back in 2010. This announcement is...more
An expensive lawsuit. Let’s say you have a service advisor who is paid $525 per week, plus commissions. The service advisor makes a blatant and careless mistake on a customer invoice, costing your dealership $535. The...more
Figuring out what deductions from an employee’s wages are permitted and prohibited under the law is a quandary. May an employer deduct an employee’s wages for personal charges on the company’s credit card? What about the cost...more
Q. We offer free lunches to our food service employees. Can we count the cost of these lunches as part of our employees' compensation? A. The short answer is yes, but as we all know, there's no such thing as a free...more
The Fair Labor Standards Act requires employees to be paid on a salary basis, not hourly, to be exempt under the so-called white collar exemptions, e.g. for executive or administrative employees. ...more
Ward v. Costco Wholesale Corp., No. 11-56757 (January 9, 2014): In a recent unpublished decision, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a trial court’s decision that Costco Wholesale did not violate the Fair Labor...more
The Ninth Circuit just held that an employer is entitled to deduct from an employee’s final paycheck money an employee owes to the employer. Ward v. Costco Wholesale Corp. Costco issued Ms. Ward a company credit card, but...more
In this, our final post in this blog series on wage and hour issues in the 21st century, we address another frequent area of concern for employers: exempt employees....more