My Current State: 

Wisconsin Fluctuating Work Week

Thursday, January 8th, 2009
Posted by Tamara
In Wisconsin and other states, federal law permits employers to pay less than the normal overtime rate in some special circumstances.

The normal overtime rate, under the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938, is 1.5 times the average hourly rate (commonly called “time and a half”). There ... continue reading

Delaware Fluctuating Work Week

Tuesday, January 6th, 2009
Posted by Tamara
Some workers in Delaware and elsewhere throughout the U.S. don’t work the “normal” work week. Instead, their weekly hours may fluctuate dramatically from one season or day to the next. In one week they may work just 20 hours and in another, 70 hours.

Many of these ... continue reading

Iowa Fluctuating Work Week

Thursday, January 1st, 2009
Posted by Tamara
Most employees in the U.S. and in Iowa are covered by the overtime rules of the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 or FLSA. Under the FLSA, employees are paid “time and a half,” or 1.5 times their normal hourly rate, for any hours over 40.

There ... continue reading

Michigan Fluctuating Work Week

Tuesday, December 30th, 2008
Posted by Tamara
Michigan workers who are paid under the fluctuating work week method may discover that the more hours they work, the smaller their overtime premium becomes.

Sometimes called the “Belo plan” method for the company that first defended it in court successfully, the fluctuating work week depends on ... continue reading

New Mexico Fluctuating Work Week

Friday, December 26th, 2008
Posted by Tamara
Employers and workers in New Mexico who are confused by the so-called “fluctuating work week” are not alone. The complex system can be baffling.

The fluctuating work week is a method of overtime payment for employees whose hours vary widely from one week to the next. Normally, ... continue reading

Tennessee Fluctuating Work Week

Wednesday, July 30th, 2008
Posted by Tamara
Tennessee businesses that have weekly payrolls that have significant fluctuations during the course of a year might do well to look into a payment system known as the “fluctuating work week” or Belo plan.   Some companies experience times during the year when they are hit with a significant ... 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

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

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

Salaried Exempt in West Virginia

Monday, April 14th, 2008
Posted by Tamara

The federal Fair Labor Standards Act oversees the regulation of overtime in West Virginia, as well as throughout the United States. Though some questions have arisen in regards to whether salaried employees might be entitled to receive overtime payments, the answer is not a simple one.

First of all, ... continue reading

Salaried Exempt in Utah

Friday, April 11th, 2008
Posted by Tamara

Overtime issues for salaried employees have become a concern for some workers in Utah. It may be surprising to some to find out that some salaried workers may actually be entitled to receive overtime.

The federal Fair Labor Standards Act, otherwise known as FLSA, is the applicable law. It ... continue reading

Salaried Exempt in Pennsylvania

Thursday, April 10th, 2008
Posted by Tamara

Are salaried employees in Pennsylvania entitled to receive overtime? This is a question that has many workers confused, and in search of answers. Surprisingly, some salaried workers are entitled to receive overtime payments, but there are some extenuating factors.

Basically, there are two different types of salaried employees. Salaried ... continue reading

Salaried Exempt in Maine

Wednesday, April 9th, 2008
Posted by Tamara

Maine employees have increasingly presented questions about whether or not salaried workers are entitled to receive overtime. The simple answer is that yes, some salaried workers are legally entitled to receive overtime payments. There are, however, different criteria that must be met in order for this to hold true.

... continue reading

Salaried Exempt in Louisiana

Tuesday, April 8th, 2008
Posted by Tamara

Some salaried employees in Louisiana have questions regarding the issue of overtime. Is it true that some salaried workers may have a right to get paid for overtime? The answer is yes.

The Fair Labor Standards Act is a federal law that makes it a requirement for employers to ... continue reading

Oregon Minimum Wage

Monday, January 28th, 2008
Posted by Tamara

Effective January 1, 2008 the minimum wage in Oregon is $7.95. California, Oregon, Arizona, and Missouri, along with 10 other states, changed their state minimum wage on the first day of January, 2008.

In the month of July in 2008, many other states will be changing their state minimum ... continue reading

Kansas Minimum Wage

Thursday, January 24th, 2008
Posted by Tamara

Minimum wage is often handled differently for those who receive tips for their work, like waiters and bartenders.  Many states, as we as federal law, provide a separate minimum wage rate for these employees. 

The Kansas minimum wage for tipped employees is just $1.69 per hour. Kansas workers who ... continue reading

West Virginia Minimum Wage

Wednesday, January 23rd, 2008
Posted by Tamara

Overtime laws and minimum wage for tipped workers vary from state to state. 

Under West Virginia law, tipped employees must be paid at least $5.24 per hour. This is significantly more than the federal rate for tipped employees, which is $2.13 per hour.

By state and federal law, ... continue reading

Posting Requirements in Washington, DC

Wednesday, January 23rd, 2008
Posted by Diane

Employees in Washington, DC have a right to learn about the labor laws that impact them at work by reviewing labor law posters. These labor law posters should be posted in an area of the workplace that is visible to all employees, such as an employee break room or a ... continue reading

Posting Requirements Wisconsin

Tuesday, January 22nd, 2008
Posted by Diane

Employees in all states across the country should be able to review information about the labor laws that impact them in the workplace. These labor laws should be posted on labor law posters. The posters should then be displayed in the workplace in an area that is visible and accessible ... continue reading

Posting Requirements in Virginia

Saturday, January 19th, 2008
Posted by Diane

Employees in all states across the country should be able to learn more information about the labor laws that impact them in the workplace by reviewing their labor law rights on the labor law posters that are displayed in the workplace. Each workplace in the state of Virginia should have ... continue reading

Kentucky Overtime Law

Thursday, January 17th, 2008
Posted by Tamara

The laws concerning the minimum wage for tipped employees and overtime benefits differ between states.

In Kentucky, tipped workers must be paid at least $2.13 per hour. Employees are entitled to overtime after 40 hours per week. Kentucky employees are also entitled to overtime on the 7 th day ... continue reading

Florida Overtime Law

Thursday, January 17th, 2008
Posted by Tamara

Florida is one of several U.S. states with no overtime law on the books. Instead, most workers are entitled to 1.5 times their usual hourly rate after 40 hours, under federal law.

The Florida statutes make an exception for those performing manual labor. They are entitled to overtime after ... continue reading

Washington Overtime Law

Wednesday, January 16th, 2008
Posted by Tamara

State laws differ greatly with regards to overtime pays and the minimum wage for workers who receive tips.

Washington is one of just 7 states that require tipped workers to be paid the same minimum wage as others. For 2008, that’s $8.07 per hour. Overtime after 40 hours is ... continue reading

Idaho Overtime Law

Monday, January 14th, 2008
Posted by Tamara

There is no Idaho law that requires employers to pay overtime.  Instead, most workers in the state are entitled to overtime after 40 hours under federal law.

The Idaho minimum wage of $5.85 increases with the federal minimum wage. On July 24, 2008 both state and federal rates will ... continue reading

Delaware Minimum Wage

Monday, January 14th, 2008
Posted by Tamara

Delaware, along with several other states, increased the state minimum wage in 2008.  Minimum wage changes for these states took effect on the first day of the year.

January always brings minimum wage increases, and 2008 is no exception. A total of 14 states have already increased the state ... continue reading

Arkansas Tipped Wage and Overtime

Monday, January 14th, 2008
Posted by Tamara

The minimum wage for tipped employees varies between states.  Overtime laws are also different from state to state. 

In Arkansas, the minimum wage is $6.25 for 2008. The minimum wage for tipped employees is 42% of that rate, or $2.63 per hour. This is higher than the federal minimum ... continue reading

Maryland Overtime Law

Friday, January 11th, 2008
Posted by Tamara

Most workers in Maryland are entitled to overtime after working 40 hours per week, under state law. By statute, workers must be paid 1.5 times their usual hourly rate for each hour of overtime worked.

The minimum wage in Maryland is $6.15 per hour until July 1, 2008, when ... continue reading

Florida Minimum Wage

Thursday, January 10th, 2008
Posted by Tamara

There are three main dates during 2008 when many states will be increasing their minimum wage.  These include January 1 st , July 1 st and July 24 th . 

The 2008 minimum wage in Florida is $6.79 per hour. Fourteen states will be raising their minimum wages at ... continue reading

Colorado Minimum Wage

Thursday, January 10th, 2008
Posted by Tamara

For 2008, the Colorado minimum wage is $7.02 per hour.

There are about fourteen states that increased their minimum wage, including Colorado. These changes took place on January 1, 2008.  Those changes are:

                                    2008                 2007

Washington                  $8.07                $7.93 Massachusetts              $8.00                $7.50 California                      $8.00                $7.50 ... continue reading

Delaware Minimum Wage

Thursday, January 10th, 2008
Posted by Tamara

Delaware is one of a handful of states with no overtime law on the state level. Employees are entitled to time-and-one-half after 40 hours under federal, not state, law.

Many states have exceptions to their minimum wage regulations.  Some states may not have minimum wage statutes, while others have ... continue reading