Wage and Hour  

Alert: Judge blocks rule increasing salary for workers exempt from overtime

A federal district court has temporarily blocked a U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) regulation that would have taken effect on December 1, 2016, and raised the minimum salary for workers who are exempt from overtime. The ruling applies nationwide. The judge’s action buys more time for the parties to argue whether the…

Q&ALabor RelationsSafety and HealthWage and Hour  

Q&A: Are employees’ social media posts on wages and safety protected?

Question: All our employees make more than minimum wage, but we had an employee go on social media and say, “Minimum wage for this work?! How are we supposed to live off that?!” A number of other employees commented on the post and a few complained about a recent safety incident. Can we discipline the employee who lied about his pay? What can we do to address this?  

Drug and AlcoholEmployee BenefitsLabor RelationsLeave LawsSafety and HealthWage and Hour  

Alert: 2016 ballot measures and election results will impact the workplace

With the November 8, 2016, election in our rear-view mirror, we’re reporting on three significant developments that will affect the workplace: California’s ballot measure on recreational marijuana, Washington’s ballot measure on paid sick leave and minimum wage, and the presidential election’s impact on recent federal employment law developments.

Wage and Hour  

CALIFORNIA: Two new laws increase scrutiny of employers’ wage decisions

Governor Brown has signed two companion bills designed to improve pay equity in the workplace. The first expands California’s groundbreaking pay equity law beyond gender so it also covers race and ethnicity (SB 1063). The second forbids employers from using prior salary as the sole justification for a pay disparity based on…

Affirmative ActionHarassment & DiscriminationWage and Hour  

OFCCP wrings significant settlements from employers

The Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) has announced a string of recent settlements with federal contractors over alleged employment discrimination.

Wage and HourWorkers’ Comp  

Q&A: Washington injured workers’ attending providers

Q: In Washington, which of the following types of providers can be an injured workers' attending provider?

Advanced RN Practioner (ARNP)
Physician's Assistant (PA)
Chiropractic (DC)
Naturopathy (ND)
Osteopathic Medicine (DO)
Dentistry (DDS or DMD)
Optometry (OD)
Podiatry (DPM)

Wage and Hour  

Payroll timekeeping practices: Rounding policies are permitted as long as they are neutral

The U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals recently ruled that both federal and California law allow rounding of employee work time to the nearest quarter-hour. Rounding should be neutral and even out over time, meaning that employees could benefit from the rounding by receiving more pay just as easily as…

Q&AEmployee BenefitsWage and Hour  

Cash in lieu of benefits must be included in regular rate calculation for overtime

Question: We offer health benefits to our employees. We also allow employees to “opt out” of our offered coverage if they can provide evidence that they have alternate coverage elsewhere. For those employees who “opt out” of our offered coverage, we provide a set amount of money each month. Do we have to include that amount of money in the regular rate of pay and in the calculation of the overtime rate?

Wage and Hour  

ALERT: DOL reveals new salary level for salaried workers exempt from overtime

Today the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) announced its final regulations raising the minimum salary level for salaried workers to be exempt from overtime.

Wage and Hour  

Pre-Shift and Post-Shift Activities: Should the Time Spent Briefing Employees be Paid?

An employer in Texas will pay $460,853 to compensate 239 employees who weren’t getting paid for the time they spent staying after their shifts to update incoming workers. The oil refinery employees were scheduled to work 12-hour shifts, but at the 12-hour mark, they had to update incoming employees on what had…