Wage and Hour

Every employer, regardless of company size, must comply with basic employment laws that regulate wage and hour factors. At a time when litigation and agency investigations are ramping up, getting a good grasp of fundamental wage and hour information and tools is especially important.

Checklist

• Assure that all employees are earning at least the minimum wage at either the state or federal level, whichever is higher.
• Specify the seven day “work-week” that will be used for overtime calculations.
• Verify that the frequency of pay days conform to your state’s requirements.
• Make sure that any requirement of “direct deposit” of wages is permitted in your state.
• Determine each position’s non-exempt or exempt status under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) or any relevant state equivalent.
• Ensure that overtime is being calculated and paid correctly based on the state and federal requirement for the payment of overtime on a daily and/or weekly basis.
• Ensure that the overtime rate is being calculated correctly based on the “regular” rate of pay.
• Verify whether there are any state requirements for mandatory meal and rest breaks. If so, verify that non-exempt staff is adhering to the requirements.
• Train non-exempt staff and supervisory personnel on the requirements to accurately complete time reporting records such as time sheets.
• Assure that the final payment of wages to terminating employees are in accordance with your state’s final paycheck requirements, including any payment of unused vacation time.
• Make sure that any non-standard deductions to paychecks such as uniform expenses, expenses for tools, etc. are authorized in writing by employees and are in conformance with your state’s wage and hour regulations.
• Double check if federal and state labor law posting requirements have been satisfied.

 

Top 5 Tips

1. Familiarize yourself with the overtime exemption criteria and remember that simply because an employee is paid on a salaried basis does not automatically disqualify the employee from entitlement to overtime compensation.
2. Secure and maintain signed timesheets from all nonexempt employees verifying their hours worked. Retain such timesheets for at least three (3) years.
3. Avoid prorating/reducing an exempt employee’s salary based on the quantity or quality of work performed, unless such a deduction is specifically permitted under federal law.
4. Familiarize yourself with the break laws that pertain to the states in which you employ personnel.
5. Ensure that employees are properly classified as either W-2 employees or 1099 independent contractors in accordance with the IRS guidelines.

 

Eric Zebold
www.employernet.net