Some Arkansas employers grant comp time to their salaried exempt employees when they work more than 40 hours in a week. This is an approach that is quite valid and can be considered good and generous management technique. It is not, however, required by federal
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As the saying goes, “It’s all in a day’s work.” If it is, in fact, all in a day’s work, it is subject to federal labor laws, even if it involves paid travel time. Federal law is quite clear on the matter. All paid travel
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A female employee asks a male coworker to go out with him. He says “no.” She asks him again. And again, and again. Although he said no the first time and continues to do so, she asks him out five times. Is this sexual harassment? The answer
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States are making changes in their mini-COBRA laws to allow workers to take advantage of a new subsidy that reduces their COBRA health insurance costs. Since February of 2009, at least 18 states have ratified the change. The Kansas mini-COBRA covers employers with 2 to 19 employees,
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Employers who fail to intervene when a hostile work environment exists could end up paying dramatically large damages to the aggrieved workers under federal law. In a recent case, for example, a dozen former and current female employees of a new car dealership chain were awarded $12
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Florida’s exempt salaried employees are not legally entitled to comp time. That is the “bottom line” regarding compensatory time off. An employer may choose to grant comp time to an exempt employee, but there is absolutely no obligation to do so, under either federal or state
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Many Ohio employers are wondering whether paid travel time is subject to federal overtime laws or whether the hours spent traveling may be counted separately. There are two kinds of employee travel time, paid and unpaid, depending on the nature of the travel and from where it
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West Virginia employers who fail to understand the federal sexual harassment laws do so at their own risk. If an employer fails to act on a possible sexual harassment incident, his or her company could face millions of dollars in damages. When a worker feels
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The Maine mini-COBRA law covers employers with 2 to 19 workers, and provides coverage for up to 12 months. Employers in Maine and elsewhere are advised to become familiar with what is referred to as the “mini-COBRA law.” Those employers who are conversant with COBRA will have
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If an employee in Iowa is targeted for negative or insulting behavior because of race, sex, color, national ancestry, religion, pregnancy, age, or disability, that employee is dealing with a hostile work environment. The guilty party could be a supervisor, but it could just as easily be a coworker.
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Many employers in Louisiana want to know what their legal obligations are when an exempt employee works more than 40 hours in a week. Many want to know if they must give the employee compensatory time off. For example, they ask, “If one of my exempt employees
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Many Texas employers offer paid holidays to their workers as part of the employee benefit package. How many and which holidays they provide are determined by each individual employer. There is no Texas or federal law that mandates paid holidays for employees. Many employees argue
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Maine has established laws that mandate meal breaks for employees. Eighteen other states have enacted similar laws, but with varying conditions. The Maine meal break law specifies that employees are entitled to a 30-minute meal break after working 6 consecutive hours. However, the law permits several exceptions.
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Government agencies commonly use “comp time” as an alternative to paying overtime. “Comp time” is simply paid time off in a future payroll week granted to employees in lieu of overtime pay. It is illegal for private employers including businesses to use comp time to avoid paying
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Tina is an Colorado employee under a lot of pressure from her supervisor to finish a report by Friday. So, on Thursday, Tina stays late to complete it. These extra hours bring her total of 45 hours of “time worked” for the payroll week. If her boss didn’t grant
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The majority of the states in America do not have laws mandating a meal break for employees. In these states, including Alabama and Arkansas, an employee can be required to work 20 or more hours without a meal break at all. If the employee is an airline pilot or
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It is difficult to believe that child labor problems exist in the United States, but the U.S. Department of Labor recently identified a major problem with child labor in the Wisconsin agriculture industry. Although the FLSA or Fair Labor Standards Act prohibits children under the age of
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Florida employers can require employees to work any day of the year. Businesses can legally remain open year-round. There is no Florida or federal law mandating that companies close on holidays or observe them in any way. In fact, if an employee is called to work on a holiday
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How to legally use “comp time” can be confusing for a private employer. Government agencies often use “comp time” (paid time off in lieu of paid overtime), as do some non-profit organizations. Private employers, however, must uphold the FLSA, a federal law that regulates overtime hours and pay.
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Hawaii employers want to know the definition of “time worked”, because Hawaii and federal minimum wage laws mandate that employees be paid for all “time worked.” At first glance, “time worked” seems like a straightforward concept. An employee arrives at work on Monday at 8 am and
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Like 19 other states, Illinois requires a meal break for employees who work a shift of 7.5 hours of more. Normally this meal break if 30 minutes but under some circumstances, 20 minutes may be sufficient. The meal break can be unpaid if the employee is relieved of all
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Children under the age of 12 are prohibited from working in any capacity, including agriculture in Arizona, by the federal Fair Labor Standards Act. Yet a recent investigation revealed children as young as 6 years old were being put to work in the fields alongside their parents, harvesting crops.
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Holiday pay and who is entitled to which paid holidays can be confusing for Indiana employees and employees. An employee asks, “Which Indiana or federal law or laws require employers to provide paid holidays and extra pay for employees who work on these holidays?” The answer is
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