State and federal agencies have been cracking down on Florida employers regarding wage and hour issues. Under particular scrutiny are misclassification of employees as independent contractors, exempt status and overtime. An example is a recent case heard in the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals, where the court
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Georgia employers need to be aware of several recent courts cases involving companies attempting to artificially lower the hourly wage for straight time to avoid paying overtime. The 5th Circuit Court of Appeals recently heard the case of Gagnon v. United Technisource. In this case, when United
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Recent court rulings show that state and federal agencies are coming down hard on employers regarding wage and hour issues, including misclassifying employees as independent contractors, exempt status and now overtime. An example is a recent case in the 5 th Circuit Court of Appeals. This case
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A few Idaho employers have been manipulating hourly wages to avoid paying overtime. Federal and state agencies have been getting tough with employers on overtime issues, and with misclassifying employees as exempt or as independent contractors. A recent overtime case was heard by the 5 th Circuit
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In November of 2004, the voters of Florida voted for an annual minimum wage adjustment. The increase was to be enacted based on the annual CPI ending in August. That law went into effect on January 1, 2005, raising the state minimum to $5.15 per hour. At that time
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The current Missouri minimum wage is the same as the federal minimum wage and applies to employers with $500,000 or more in annual revenue, and to businesses engaged in interstate commerce. Any Missouri retail or service business which earns less than $500,000 per year and does not engage in
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Director of the Ohio Department of Commerce, Kimberly Zurz, reported that the Ohio minimum wage increased from $7.30 to $7.40 per hour on January 1, 2011. The Ohio minimum wage was unchanged from August 2009 to January 2011, remaining at $7.30 per hour for 17 months. According
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All employers, including those in Washington, are required to display current labor law posters. After January 1, 2011, each Washington company will be required to post an updated 2011 minimum wage poster. On that day, the Washington minimum wage will increase from $8.55 per hour to $8.67 per hour.
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Labor Commissioner Laura L. McGrory recently announced that Arizona’s minimum wage will go from $7.25 to $7.35 per hour on January 1, 2011. This 10 cent increase is based on a resolution issued by the board of the Industrial Commission of Arizona. Arizona minimum wage applies to
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Labor Commissioner Brad Avakian recently announced the Oregon minimum wage will increase 10 cents per hour from $8.40 per hour to $8.50 per hour on January 1, 2011. The increase is based on a 1.15% increase in the Consumer Price Index for the year ending September 1, 2010.
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According to the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) each employee who works more than 40 hours in one week is entitled to overtime pay. The pay is calculated at 1.5 times the worker’s usual hourly rate. There is confusion about this law, however, when considering travel time
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An hourly Indiana employee works as a service technician and travels between each service call. His employer asks, “Can we pay the travel time separately and avoid overtime? Is it legal to pay less for paid travel time? If so, how is overtime calculated for employees being paid two
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Kentucky employers ask, “Exactly what is the definition of paid travel time, and does it count toward total hours, including overtime?” Many employers find paid travel time a confusing subject, because the federal regulations regarding this type of time are quite complex. The basic definition
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A Montana employee asks, “I’m a carpenter and travel during the day between service calls. My employer pays me for travel time, but at a different rate than my work time. Is that legal?” Yes. Federal travel time regulations are fairly complex. An employee’s time from home
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Employers in Texas and elsewhere in the U.S. must count all paid travel as work time. As such, it is subject to laws about overtime. Not all travel time is paid travel time, of course, and the difference will be discussed further on, but if it is
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Many employees in Colorado and elsewhere are entitled to paid travel time. When those employees do qualify for it, their travel pay is subject to the same overtime and minimum wage laws as the rest of their work time is. The relevant law is the Fair Labor
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The laws about travel time for employees can be complex. Whether or not a worker is entitled to paid travel time is subject to a whole series of variables. One thing is not hard to understand, however. It is that, if the travel time is paid travel
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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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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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The federal and Iowa minimum wage laws require employers to pay employees for all time worked. That seems like a fairly straight-forward requirement, but it can be difficult to determine what counts as time worked. Under the federal FLSA or Fair Labor Standards Act, work time includes
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Many Wisconsin workers were entitled to a pay increase to $7.25 per hour in July, even though the state minimum wage remains $6.50 per hour. For ten years, while the federal minimum wage sat at $5.15 an hour, members of Congress voted themselves raises that hiked their
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Although the Arkansas minimum wage remains at $6.25 per hour, many employees are entitled to $7.25 per hour under the federal minimum wage law, beginning July 24, 2009. The Fair Minimum Wage Act of 2007 mandated that the federal minimum wage would increase 70 cents an hour
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On July 24, 2009, more than a dozen states in the U.S. will hike their minimum wages. Those 12 states mirror the increase in the federal minimum wage , which goes up on the same day. Among those states is Nebraska, where the pay will
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Virtually every Georgia employee is entitled to the federal minimum wage, according to the Georgia Department of Labor. On July 24, the federal minimum wage increased by 70 cents from $6.55 per hour to $7.25 per hour. Again, most Georgia employees are entitled to this minimum wage.
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The federal minimum wage increases from $6.55 to $7.25 on July 24, 2009, the last of the increases that started in 2007 with a hike from $5.15 to $5.85 per hour. The next was from $5.85 to $6.55 in 2008. With the third and final increase in
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There is good news for both employers and employees in North Carolina. The good news for employees is that the North Carolina minimum wage will increase from $6.55 an hour to $7.25 an hour. The change represents an hourly hike of 70 cents per hour.
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When the North Dakota minimum wage increases, the state will join many others in the U.S. with increases falling on the same day as the hike in the federal minimum wage . On July 24, 2009 the North Dakota minimum wage increases from $6.55 to $7.25 per
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The minimum wage in Texas will increase this summer. On July 24, 2009, the Texas minimum wage increases from $6.55 to $7.25 an hour, a hike of 70 cents. July 24, 2009 is also the date that the federal minimum wage increases. Texas is one
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On July 24, 2009 the Oklahoma minimum wage increases from $6.55 to $7.25 per hour, along with the federal minimum wage. That is an increase of 70 cents, and an increase of $2.10 in just over two years. By statute, when the federal minimum wage increases, the
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The Idaho minimum wage law applies not only to those covered by the federal Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), but to smaller employers in the state also. Otherwise, the Idaho law mirrors the rate and schedule of the federal minimum wage law. For example, on July 24,
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