My Current State: 

Wisconsin Travel Time and FLSA

Thursday, July 24th, 2008
Posted by Tamara
Some Wisconsin employers wonder when they are expected to pay for an employee’s travel time.   This is covered by the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938, which is a federal law that sheds light on a variety of employee issues.

Enforcement of the FLSA is handled ... continue reading

Arizona FMLA and Termination

Thursday, July 24th, 2008
Posted by Tamara
Employees in all 50 states are covered by the FMLA. In some states there is additional coverage provided by the state for family or medical leave, however, in Arizona there is not.   Several other states have added additional employee benefits to those provided by the Family and Medical ... continue reading

South Dakota Workplace Violence

Wednesday, July 23rd, 2008
Posted by Tamara
South Dakota employers should be aware that while incidents of violence in the workplace has declined in recent years, there were still 754 individuals who were killed as a result of violent acts and assaults occurring on the job site.   The United States Department of Labor asserts that ... continue reading

South Carolina Tipped Minimum Wage

Wednesday, July 23rd, 2008
Posted by Tamara
In South Carolina, and throughout much of the United States, employees who routinely receive tips can be paid a substantially lower wage by the employer.   However, the employee is not required to share the tip with any salaried manager or the employer.

South Carolina tipped workers ... continue reading

Washington Workplace Violence

Tuesday, July 22nd, 2008
Posted by Tamara
Workplace violence in Washington and throughout the nation is declining.   From 1994 until 2006, the number of deaths in the workplace as a result of violent acts and assaults dropped by an incredible 50%.   This is according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.   The BLS states ... continue reading

Indiana Travel Time and FLSA

Tuesday, July 22nd, 2008
Posted by Tamara
Indiana employers are not required to pay for the time it takes for their employees to commute to and from their work site. This is true even for temporary job sites, provided the commute falls within a normal commute range.

It is normal and customary for employees ... continue reading

Arkansas Fluctuating Work Week

Monday, July 21st, 2008
Posted by Tamara
Some Arkansas employers wonder if the Belo plan for paying overtime is applicable for their particular business situation.   This plan, also known as the “fluctuating work week”, allows certain employers an alternative to the standard payment for overtime established in 1938 by the federal Fair Labor Standards Act. ... continue reading

Arizona Travel Time and FLSA

Sunday, July 20th, 2008
Posted by Tamara
Many employees do not understand when they must be paid for travel time. Generally, employers are not required to pay workers for commuting time.

It is possible that an employee in an A city would drive for up to an hour both morning and evening on his ... continue reading

Florida Workplace Violence

Saturday, July 19th, 2008
Posted by Tamara
The United States Department of Labor reports that occurrences of assaults and violent attacks resulting in death are declining, but employers need to be aware of the potential for violence on the job site.

The most recent and most horrendous occurrences of workplace homicide have not taken ... continue reading

Indiana FMLA and Termination

Friday, July 18th, 2008
Posted by Tamara
Some Indiana employees may wonder how much time they can take off from work to care for medical or family needs, and still keep their jobs.   The answer for most employees would be 12 weeks, but that time might be extended significantly because of other extenuating circumstances.

... continue reading

Kentucky Fluctuating Work Week

Thursday, July 17th, 2008
Posted by Tamara
The Belo plan provides some Kentucky employers with an alternative way of handling overtime for a few hourly employees.   The Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 established that American workers would be paid a normal hourly wage for the first 40 hours in any given work week.   ... continue reading

Nebraska Tipped Minimum Wage

Thursday, July 17th, 2008
Posted by Tamara
Many issues between Nebraska employers and employees are governed by federal laws, regulations, and policies.   Very often, these mandates are overseen by the United States Department of Labor.   This is true in the matter of minimum wage for tipped employees in the state.Federal as well as state ... continue reading

Minnesota Workplace Violence

Wednesday, July 16th, 2008
Posted by Tamara
Deaths on the job site as a result of assault or violent actions are declining.   The Bureau of Labor Statistics, which is charged with keeping such records, reports a steady decline over the past several years.   Many employees and employers are more aware of the problem despite ... continue reading

Mississippi FMLA and Termination

Wednesday, July 16th, 2008
Posted by Tamara
The federal Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993, provides job protection for Mississippi employees.   Mississippi is like most other states. There is no state law that offers job protection if an employee must be away from work for an extended period to care for a medical or ... continue reading

Montana Fluctuating Work Week

Tuesday, July 15th, 2008
Posted by Tamara
Some Montana employers wonder if there are any alternatives to paying workers 1.5 times their normal hourly rate for overtime.   The short answer is that in a few cases there may be an alternative plan.   The payment system goes by a variety of names.   It has ... continue reading

Florida Tipped Minimum Wage

Tuesday, July 15th, 2008
Posted by Tamara
 

The minimum wage for tipped employees in the state of Florida is $3.77 per hour.   In order for an employer to consider a particular employee as a tipped employee two factors must be true.   Firstly, the employee must be an hourly worker.   ... continue reading

Maryland Smoking Breaks

Sunday, July 13th, 2008
Posted by Tamara
The federal Fair Labor Standards Act established that workplace breaks which are shorter than 20 minutes in duration must be paid breaks.   Beyond this regulation, few federal standards deal directly with the issue of break time in the work place.

Some states have chosen to establish ... continue reading

Paid Time Off and FMLA in Missouri

Saturday, July 12th, 2008
Posted by Tamara
Employers in Missouri have a great deal of flexibility in dealing with employee leave for FMLA qualified leave requests.   In some cases, a Missouri employer can count PTO as FMLA leave, provided the employee has been informed in advance, in writing.

The Family and Medical Leave ... continue reading

New Jersey Smoking Breaks

Friday, July 11th, 2008
Posted by Tamara
Employees in New Jersey are not guaranteed breaks away from their workstation to smoke.   In fact, employers are not required to give them any short rest or “coffee” breaks at all.   Many employers choose to give their employees brief breaks at times during the day but these ... continue reading

Paid Time Off and FMLA in Pennsylvania

Thursday, July 10th, 2008
Posted by Tamara
In Pennsylvania, an employer may choose to count an employee’s paid leave towards that employee’s 12 week allotment of unpaid leave provided by the FMLA under certain circumstances. When PTO is counted as FMLA leave, the employee must be informed in advance, in writing. According to the U. S. ... continue reading

Texas Smoking Breaks

Tuesday, July 8th, 2008
Posted by Tamara
Employers in Texas are not required by any law to give any employee a smoking break.   As the issue of smoking indoors and the consequences of second hand smoke has grown this has become a workplace issue.

In Texas, as in most states, there is no ... continue reading

Paid Time Off and FMLA in South Carolina

Tuesday, July 8th, 2008
Posted by Tamara
South Carolina has not provided any state law that extends job protected leave past the 12 weeks guaranteed workers under the FMLA.   However, there are only 5 states that have enacted such laws.   Rhode Island, California, Hawaii, New York, and New Jersey have state wide short term ... continue reading

Louisiana Smoking Breaks

Sunday, July 6th, 2008
Posted by Tamara
  Some Louisiana companies allow employees who smoke to take brief breaks throughout the workday.   However, this practice is less and less common, for a number of reasons.   No Louisiana law requires employers to give such frequent, short breaks to smokers.   

Most employees, in Louisiana, ... continue reading

Paid Time Off and FMLA in Delaware

Friday, July 4th, 2008
Posted by Tamara
The FMLA was established to provide employees with unpaid leave to care for serious health conditions and family needs while at the same time their job is protected.   The leave can last for as long as 12 weeks, after which an employee must return to work or risk ... continue reading

Alabama Smoking Breaks

Thursday, July 3rd, 2008
Posted by Tamara
Many Alabama workers wonder if they are entitled to smoke breaks.   

In Alabama, and throughout the nation, there is increasing concern about the effect of smoking in the workplace.   Much of this growing discussion centers around health related issues, but there are other concerns as ... continue reading

Paid Time Off and FMLA in Maine

Tuesday, July 1st, 2008
Posted by Tamara
The FMLA provides job protection to Maine employees who require time away from the workplace under the act.   There are no additional state mandates that have been enacted to support or extend the provisions of the FMLA.   Maine employers are not required to offer paid leave to ... continue reading

Oklahoma FMLA

Sunday, June 29th, 2008
Posted by Tamara
According to the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) an Oklahoma worker is entitled to 12 weeks of unpaid job protected leave to take care of an immediate family member who has a serious health condition,   or to bond with a newly adopted child, a newly placed foster ... continue reading

Massachusetts Payday

Thursday, June 26th, 2008
Posted by Tamara
It is illegal in Massachusetts, and most of the other states in the U.S., for an employer to delay or refuse to pay an employee on payday. The Wage and Hour Division of the U.S. Department of Labor, which also enforces minimum wage guidelines, allows an employer to decide ... continue reading

Nebraska FMLA

Wednesday, June 25th, 2008
Posted by Tamara
Many employees in Nebraska have questions about job protection under FMLA.

An employer in Nebraska, and other states in the nation, is not allowed to change an employee’s working conditions based solely on FMLA leave.   The Family and Medical Leave Act permits an employee to take ... continue reading

New York Payday

Tuesday, June 24th, 2008
Posted by Tamara
An employer in New York, as well as most other states in the U.S. has the right to set the pay day for their company.   But, once that payday is determined they must honor it.   It is illegal to not pay employees on payday in New York ... continue reading