In Genesis Healthcare v. Symczyk, decided April 16, 2013, the U.S. Supreme Court held that a group, or collective, action to recover unpaid wages can be mooted by an employer’s offer to have judgment entered against it for the full amount of the lead plaintiff’s unpaid wages and reasonable attorney’s fees, if the court overseeing […]
What Are The Rules For Using Interns?
This is the time of year when students looking to explore a career interest or to gain experience are applying for unpaid summer internships. As employers consider “hiring” interns, they should bear certain rules in mind in order to avoid running into problems with the U.S. Department of Labor or the IRS. It is easy […]
Now is the Time to Make Sure That Your Independent Contractors are Really Independent Contractors and Not Employees
Most businesses have figured out that W-2 employees must have taxes deducted from their paychecks, and that the business must remit a variety of employee and employer taxes to various governmental authorities on behalf of each of its employees. This means that the employer must keep track of the taxes that are deducted from each […]
Is a Secretary Exempt from Overtime Pay?
One of the common mistakes made by employers is assuming that office workers are exempt from payment of overtime wages simply because they are “white collar”. The typical scenario is that a secretary is hired at a specified monthly salary, sits at a desk, wears nice clothes, is given a professional sounding title, and is […]
Employment Basics for Small Businesses
Over the years, many start-up businesses have asked what they need to do to begin setting up their human relations policies. While small businesses often don’t have the wherewithal to develop detailed human relations policies – and almost certainly don’t have a full-time human relations director – some steps should be taken early on to […]
When Is An Employee Exempt From The Overtime Provisions Of Federal Wage & Hour Law?
Employers and employees have many misperceptions regarding who may be covered by the overtime pay requirements of federal wage & hour law1. For example, an oft-cited misperception is that office workers are not covered (i.e. exempt from eligibility for overtime compensation), but that manual laborers are covered. In fact, sometimes office workers are exempt and […]
