Employment Law Blog
News, trends and analysis in employment law and HR
Jul
16
2019
Q&A: Be careful how you round employee work hours
Question: We recently changed to a new timekeeping and payroll system, and the new system sometimes rounds down the amount of time an employee worked. Is that legal? Answer: Probably, but it depends on how much time is rounded down and the state in which the employee works. A recent opinion letter…
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Jul
01
2019
Employers need objective basis to require fitness-for-duty exam
A federal district court recently ruled that a police department complied with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) when it required a bomb squad technician to undergo a fitness-for-duty exam. Their justification? The city had an objective basis for the fitness-for-duty exam request. In this case, the technician was experiencing hand…
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Jun
26
2019
Q&A: Say what you mean in commission agreements
Question: One of our salespeople landed two huge contracts. Under the terms of the commission agreement, this salesperson would earn nearly $3 million. But we never anticipated paying anyone that much money. We reserved the right to amend the plan. Can we cut the commission payment?
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Jun
24
2019
DOL proposes to increase FLSA overtime exemption salary threshold
The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) is proposing to increase minimum salary levels under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) overtime exemption rules for executive, administrative, and professional employees. If the proposed rules are finalized, the DOL states that over a million current salaried exempt employees will be designated as…
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Jun
21
2019
Employer must pay for time spent studying for work-related exam
A federal district court in Arizona recently ruled that employees must be paid for time spent studying for written tests that they were required to pass in order to complete on-the-job training. A group of long-haul truck drivers filed a lawsuit against their employer alleging violations of the Fair Labor…
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Jun
21
2019
Wildfire season…are you ready?
As wildfire season approaches, it’s important to understand your obligations if employees want to wear dust masks to try to protect themselves from smoke in the air. Wildfire smoke is a mixture of gases and fine particles from burning trees and other plant material. Smoke can irritate workers’ eyes and respiratory systems,…
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Jun
21
2019
$102M awarded for wage statement and meal violations in California
A federal district court in California recently awarded Wal-Mart employees $102 million in damages and penalties for missed meals and insufficient wage statements. The class action claim was divided into three parts: missed meals, wage statements missing hourly rates, and final pay statements without pay period start and end dates.…
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Jun
10
2019
New law in Washington protects isolated workers
Washington has a new law intended to prevent the sexual harassment or assault of certain isolated workers. The law applies to every hotel, motel, retail, security guard entity, or “property services contractor” that employs a custodian, security guard, hotel or motel housekeeper, or room-service employee who spends a majority of their working…
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Jun
10
2019
All Oregon employers must comply with new anti-harassment law
On June 4, the Oregon legislature passed SB 726, which will (1) extend the statute of limitations from 1 year to 5 years for complaints and civil lawsuits related to harassment and some types of discrimination; (2) restrict the use of nondisclosure (NDA), nondisparagement, and no-rehire agreements; and (3) require…
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Jun
10
2019
Q&A: Federal and state overtime laws may not be the same
Question: We have a salaried manager who sometimes helps out with production. Is he still exempt from overtime even though he doesn’t always work as a manager? Answer: Maybe. Under the federal Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), managers are exempt from overtime requirements as executives if they’re paid high-enough salaries, they customarily and regularly…
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