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 by the Wage and Hour Division of the U. S. Department of Labor.  This division also enforces the minimum wage and overtime regulations. 

During the workday, once an employee has arrived at the first job site, an employee’s additional travel time should usually be paid.  This includes time going from job site to job site, running errands for the employer, going on sales calls, or for any number of reasons.  This time should be paid regardless of whether the employee is using a company vehicle or his or her own personal vehicle.

Obviously, the employer need not pay the employee for travel on his or her meal break.

Many questions arise concerning travel time relating to the commute to and from work.  The overriding principle is that it is the employee’s responsibility to get to and from work, and an employer is not required to pay for a normal commute. This is true even if the employee chooses to live 50 or more miles from work.  

There are factors that can raise questions.  The first is that there are times when an employee will be required to go to an alternate job site that is beyond the range of a normal commute.  In such a case, the employer should pay for any travel time beyond a normal commute. 

However, a normal commute might vary for one location to another.  A normal commute in and around Milwaukee, Wisconsin might be very different from a normal commute in Manitowoc, Wisconsin.  An employer needs to be sure that his or her decision making process is fair and not discriminatory and is also consistent with the travel conditions within the local work area.

Job assignments which require an employee to travel out of town and stay overnight are subject to a different set of rules.   

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 leave Act of 1993. Those benefits vary widely in terms of the amount of time the employee is allowed away from work, and whether the time off is paid or unpaid.  FMLA leave is unpaid.

FMLA leave is provided to employees who have qualifying medical or family events which require that the employee be away from work.  The leave can be for as long as 12 weeks.  The employee must return to work when the leave time is over.  Failure to return to work on time would result in the job being lost.  Employers can fill the vacancy temporarily during the leave period, but can find a permanent replacement if the employee fails to return at the end of the leave.  Unfortunately, this is true even if the employee remains ill or has other legitimate reasons for staying out of work longer than 12 weeks.

There are some instances when an employee might be entitled to additional time away from the job for a FMLA qualified event.  Contracts to which the employee is a party might provide for additional time off. An example would be a union contract.  Some companies have established policies that provide for additional leave time.  Other companies may have established a precedent by allowing previous employees to take more time off than the FMLA provides while protecting their job.

Occasionally, an illness will result in the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 coming into play.  This act requires an employer to make “reasonable accommodation” to an employee with a disability.  If the cause of the FMLA leave is an event or illness that has left the employee with a disability, then the employer will need to insure that the provisions offered under the ADA are also met.

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 the nation has seen workplace violence resulting in deaths has decreased by 50% since 1994. 

According to the BLS or Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2006 saw the fewest violent deaths in the workplace while 1994 was the deadliest.  Even though the number of deaths has declined, modern media has made us more acutely aware of this continuing problem.  The incidents occur all over the country.  Dover, Delaware was the location of a shooting that resulted in the death of 2 Delaware State University students.

In Orlando, Florida horrified family members, who were eating at a Denny’s restaurant after having just visited Disney World, watched as a waitress was stabbed by her estranged husband.  Some of the vacationers attacked the assailant and called paramedics.  However, despite the heroic actions of the onlookers, the woman died from her injuries.  

Perhaps the most appalling of the tragic events was the massacre at Virginia Tech last year.  Sueng-Hui Cho a student at the school began the day by killing 2 individuals in a dorm room.  The murders were discovered and local investigators declared the deaths to be a murder and suicide.  As a result, campus security did not place the school on lock down.

Several hours later, Cho entered a class room building, locked the doors and began to kill both students and staff.  In total Cho shot nearly 50 individuals before turning a gun on himself.  Thirty-two people lost their lives and 17 others were injured. 

Sueng- Hui Cho had displayed several of the warning signs that the Occupational Safety and Health Administration has identified as signs of impending workplace violence.  Cho was a loner with few close friends.  He had an intense interest in weapons.  He was very jealous of women he knew only casually.  He showed signs of obsessive behavior towards some of these women.  He also had received treatment for mental disorders, but was not taking any treatment at the time of the massacre.

Even though the numbers are declining, employers should become familiar with these OSHA warning signs so that they are prepared to take preventative action to avoid a recurrence of these tragic scenes.

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 must be paid a minimum wage of $2.13 per hour. Because the state has no minimum wage law, the federal law applies in most cases.  A worker can be considered a tipped worker if he or she regularly receives $30 or more in tips per month.  However, it does not matter what an employee is being paid per hour, the worker is entitled to keep the entire tip unless the establishment has a legitimate “tip pooling” policy in operation.

Tip pooling is a practice in which all tipped employees put their accumulated tips into a pool to be split.  This practice helps to relieve tension that can some times develop among employees over who receives the best service assignments and therefore has the potential for receiving the most in tips.  Salaried managers would normally be exempted from the tip pool in order for the practice to be considered valid.  If a salaried manager participated in the tip pool it may or may not be a violation of federal law, but it would almost certainly be viewed as unfair to the tipped workers.

Another common practice among tipped workers is called, “tipping out.”  This occurs when a server gives a predetermined share of his or her tips to other service employees such as a bus person or bartender.  While this practice would be considered voluntary, a server who chose not to participate would likely find that the help they receive from the other workers might be much slower and done with less care.  This in turn would likely reduce the server’s tips. 

Mandatory “service charges” which many restaurants or service companies charge for large groups are not considered tips.  Therefore, they may be retained by the employer.  The employer must pay tax on this revenue, but is free to share the income with the employees as he or she desires.

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 that 1994 was the year that recorded the largest number of workplace related, violent deaths, while 2006 had the fewest.

Still, employers should take steps to prevent workplace violence.    

In 2007 the nation witnessed one of the worst workplace tragedies in our history.  The highly visible massacre on the campus of Virginia Tech captured the attention and hearts of Americans all over the nation.  Seung-Hui Cho killed himself shortly after walking into a classroom building, chaining the doors shut, and opening fire, killing 32 individuals.

What is particularly sad about this massacre is the Cho exhibited many classic warning signs of an individual who might be involved in workplace violence.  He was obsessed with women he hardly knew.  He displayed stalker-like behavior towards them, even though they were only acquaintances.  He was extremely interested in weaponry.  He was a loner.  Finally, he had a history of mental health issues but was not under any treatment at the time of the attack.

Also, upsetting in this situation is the fact that Seung-Hui Cho had murdered two other individuals earlier in the day.  The campus security force decided not to put the campus on lock down.  Local investigators assessed the deaths to be a murder/suicide, which seems strange since both victims were shot but there was no gun found at the scene. 

Employers should be aware of any individuals who display any of these types of warning signs.  Another potential problem resulting in workplace violence is domestic violence.  Sometimes problems at home, or away from the workplace, will become a major factor in a violent death at work.  Recently in Orlando, Florida a waitress was stabbed by her estranged husband.  The incident occurred at a Denny’s restaurant close to Walt Disney World.  It was witnessed by several families who had just visited the park.  Some of the vacationers chases the assailant away and tried to help the woman, but she died from her wounds. 

While these types of workplace events are on the decline, there were still over 750 deaths because of violence at the job site in 2006 according to the United States Department of Labor.

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 to start their paid workday when they arrive at work and for their paid time to stop when they leave to return home.  Employers would however be expected to pay for travel time beyond what would be considered normal commute time.

What constitutes a normal commute time will vary from location to location, and from situation to situation.  Larger metropolitan areas with more congestion and a more widespread geographic area would normally have longer commute times than smaller towns and cities.  There is not specific formula for determining what amounts to a “normal” commute time.  For instance, an employee in New York City would be expected to navigate a longer commute to work, without pay, than an employee in rural Upstate New York.

The federal Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 established the principles that govern travel time.  The rules and regulations are enforced by the U. S. Department of Labor through its Wage and Hour Division. 

When employees are asked to go to a different job location that requires significant additional travel time, then that additional time should be paid.  Employer may deduct the normal time for the commute, but any extra time should be paid, provided it is outside the normal metro area.

Suppose Carl manages a fast-food franchise on the south side of Gary. Carls’ boss schedules him to attend a food safety seminar downtown. Even if Carl has to drive a bit further to attend the event, it’s still within the city’s normal commuting range. However, if Carl’s boss schedules him to attend the training in Indianapolis, Carl would probably be entitled to payment for the additional travel time.

Employees are sometimes required to travel to multiple locations during the course of the work day.  In most cases, travel time during the course of the day should be paid for by the employer.  This is true no matter if the vehicle used is a personal vehicle or a company car.

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.  Normally, American employees who work more than 40 hours in a payroll period are paid 1.5 times for any time over the 40 hour threshold. 

Some businesses whose payrolls vary dramatically, have implemented the Belo system.  The system provides that hourly employees will be paid a flat weekly salary for all hours in a particular week. The employee receives this base amount without regard to the number of hours he or she has worked.  Even if the employee only works 1 hour during a particular work week he or she will be paid the entire salary. On weeks when the employee works more than 40 hours the employer pays an additional amount to the worker equal to one-half of the employee’s normal hourly wage.

When the wages are calculated, the employee’s hourly rate can never fall below the applicable state or federal minimum wage. Also, there must be some weeks when the worker puts in less than 40 hours, for the Belo plan to be legal.  Furthermore, the employer must inform the employee prior to implementing the plan and the employee must agree.  It is best if this information is put in writing.

There are certain advantages to the Belo plan for both the employer and the employee.  On the one hand the employer will likely save on overtime compensation, and the employer’s payroll will not fluctuate so dramatically.  On the other hand, the employee can be assured a steady paycheck even during times when there is not enough work to justify a 40 hour work week.

Many business situations will mean that this payment system cannot be utilized since the very limited and rigid requirements must be met, but for businesses who qualify, the plan might be beneficial for both the employer and employee.      

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 or her commute to work, for which there would be no compensation. A worker in a small town in Arizona might only drive for 15 minutes morning and evening. In both cases, the commute could be considered normal for the particular situation and therefore the time spent driving would not be paid work time.  However, if that rural employee was asked to go an hour away to a new job for the day, then the difference in the normal commute and the special travel time would be payable as work time.

These types of situations are true because the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 is a federal law, which established that normal commutes to and from work, do not have to be compensated by the employer.  However, other times spent traveling as a part of the workday should receive payment.  There is no specific designation as to what constitutes a “normal” commute.  That would vary depending on the individual job condition.  Larger metropolitan areas often require longer commutes than do less congested rural job locations.

The government established that the employee has a responsibility to get to work and to get home from work.  The only time a commute would be paid for is if the employer required the employee to take on a job responsibility that resulted in added time to the normal commute. 

Following the same line of thought, travel time during the work day, which is a part of the job should be paid travel time. This would hold true without respect to whether the travel time was in a company supplied vehicle or in an employee’s vehicle.

Since this legal standard is a result of federal law, it is overseen by a federal agency.  The U. S. Department of Labor is charged with enforcement of the FLSA.  The Wage and Hour Division of the department, which also regulates minimum wage and overtime laws, is responsible for seeing that these employee rights are not violated.   

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 place in Florida. However, they could have easily taken place anywhere.  The list of locations includes Dover, Delaware, the Virginia Tech campus, and Orlando, Florida.  Virtually every month brings more media coverage of another shooting or stabbing on a seemingly tranquil worksite. 

Even though there were numerous warning signs, no one suspected that April 16, 2007 would be a day that would see one of the most horrific examples of workplace homicide.  During the course of that day, Seung-Hui Cho shot over 50 individuals before killing himself.  Thirty four of his victims died and 17 others were injured.  Until that day, the campus of Virginia Tech seemed to be a very unlikely place for such a horrible massacre.

Cho was an individual with a number of problems.  He seemed to have difficulty with relationships.  He had few if any close friends.  He would become jealous of women he had only met casually.  His relationship with these women would often become obsessive.  He very unusually interested in guns and ammunition.  Mental illness had been a problem for him, although he was not under any treatment at the time of his rampage.  These are all things that have been cited by OSHA as potential warning signs for workplace violence.

The campus of Delaware State University was another unsuspecting site for workplace murder.  Recently, 2 students were killed near the school’s sports complex.  The entire campus was locked down and the 1,700 students were isolated inside their dorm rooms. 

In Orlando, Florida the joyful sound of families sharing a meal after a visit to Walt Disney World was silenced as a waitress was stabbed and killed right in front of the vacationers.  Though some family members chased the estranged husband away and someone else called for medical assistance, the woman succumbed to her wounds and died. 

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.

Indiana employers must provide employees with up to 12 weeks of unpaid leave for qualified life events under the federal Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993.  The legislation covers the employee’s serious health condition. It also allows employees to take time off to care for an immediate family member with a serious health condition, or to care for a newborn, newly adopted, or new foster child. 

Employee must be given time off, during which their jobs are protected.  It is important to note FMLA leave is unpaid, but does provide that the employee may return to work at the end of the qualified period with no penalty or loss of benefits.

Some employees enjoy additional time allotments provided by union contracts, or established company policy.  Other employees will return to work with a qualifying disability under the American with Disabilities Act of 1990 and will receive reasonable accommodation provided for under the ADA. 

If an employee does not have the benefit of additional protection, beyond that which is afforded under FMLA, then the employee must return to work when the 12 week leave time has expired.  Should the employee fail to return to work, at that time, the employee could be terminated.  Some employers might consider rehiring the employee when he or she is able to return to work, but this is entirely voluntary. Employers are not required to rehire employees who have exceeded their leave under FMLA.

Employers might find that a policy of rehiring employees is worth considering.  This could provide the company with a well qualified employee at a later date, when an opening is available.     

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.  The remainder, called overtime, is to be paid at a rate of at least 1.5 times the employee’s usual hourly wage.  Some states have additional restrictions to overtime. 

In industries where there are hourly employees whose time fluctuates dramatically at different times of the year there is another payment method which has been deemed to be lawful by the courts.  Some enterprises, particularly those affected by weather such as resorts, golf courses, and landscaping companies, use the Belo plan. 

When the Belo plan is implemented, then hourly employees are paid a standard salary per week. The employee receives his or her full salary whether working 20 hours or 40 hours per week. When an employee on the Belo plan works more than 40 hours in a week, the employee’s salary still covers the “straight time” requirement for the additional hours. So, the employee is paid just 50% of his or her average wage for the week, as overtime compensation. Suppose John’s salary on a Belo plan is $400 per week. When he works 40 hours, that averages out to $10 per hour. If John works 50 hours one week, his regular salary of $400 divided by 50 makes his average rate for that week $8.00 per hour. In addition, John’s employer must pay him an overtime premium of $4 per hour for 10 hours. So John makes $440 for 50 hours of work.

Ironically, on the Belo plan, the more hours the employee puts in, the lower his or her hourly rate.

Employees agree to Belo plans because they provide reliable income in seasonal occupations. The employee can then count on steady income throughout the year, even at times when work is slow.  The employer on the other hand will likely save on overtime pay, and can count on a steadier payroll. 

Both state and federal courts have approved this plan provided the employees have a full understanding of how the plan works prior to its implementation.  That usually means that employees must sign a Belo contract or agreement in advance. Belo is only legal when the employee’s workweek is sometimes less than 40 hours, as well as sometimes more than 40 hours.

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 law holds sway in this matter.

Tipped employees fall under a different set of regulations and policies than do other hourly workers.  If an employer determines that a worker can be considered a tipped employee then the worker can be paid less than the standard minimum wage.  In fact, the present federal minimum wage for tipped employees stands at $2.13 per hour, which is substantially less than the overall federal minimum wage.

Employers are allowed to pay tipped workers less per hour because these same workers can receive significant income from customers who tip them for the service they provide.  In order to be considered a tipped worker, an employee must regularly receive tips that total at least $30 per month under federal law.  The worker must also be an hourly employee. 

Employers are not required to share “service charges”, which some employers routinely add to customer’s bills, with tipped employees. These charges are not considered tips and fall into category of gross revenue for the establishment.

Some employers do share this income with servers, but federal law does not require the practice.

Tipped employees are often encouraged to share a portion of their tips with other hourly employees such as hostesses, individuals busing tables, or even bartenders.  Some establishments set up policies to determine percentages that these support personnel will receive.  This can encourage cooperation among the employees and in fact increase the tip revenue for the servers.  “Tipping out” as this practice is usually called, is appropriate under federal law.

“Tip pooling” is another practice allowed under federal law and also allowable under most state law.  Often servers will pool their tip receipts so that all of the servers can share evenly regardless of their particular service station assignment.  This can help to even out tip income which can vary a great deal during slow periods, depending on where a service assignment is located within the establishment.  Once again, this practice is appropriate if it is practiced fairly and if salaried employees do not receive any of the tips.     

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 the decline, in large part, because of the emergence of increased media coverage of such events.

Still, employers need to take steps to prevent violence in the workplace.

Not long ago a student was arrested in connection with the death of 2 students at Delaware State University.  The students were shot near the school’s sports arena.  The entire campus was shut down and federal law enforcement officers were called in to assist the local campus security in searching for and apprehending the assailant.

In 2005, 792 individuals were slain in workplace violence.  The figure dropped to 754 in 2006 which was a decline of 5 percent.  According to the BLS, 2006 had the fewest violent workplace deaths.  The decline since 1994, the year with the most reported workplace homicides, has been dramatic.  The numbers have fallen over 50 percent.

Still there are hundreds each year who lose their lives as a result of assaults on the jobsite.  Many of these deaths are a result of domestic violence which follows an individual to work.  Recently, in Orlando, Florida a waitress was stabbed and killed by her estranged husband while working at a local Denny’s restaurant not far from Walt Disney World.

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration has identified a number of warning signs for potential workplace violence.  They include such things as a history of mental illness, especially if the individual has stopped treatment on their own.  Another sign can be obsessive behavior, particularly with the opposite sex, as well as difficulty maintaining relationships in general.  Such behavior will result in an individual becoming isolated.  They are often described as “loners.”  An obsession with guns and other weapons can sometimes be a warning sign.

Seung-Hui Cho who massacred over 30 individuals on the Virginia Tech campus in April of 2007 displayed all of these warning signs to some degree.  Employers and employees alike should be aware of these signs and take appropriate action if they believe the actions of someone on the jobsite represent a potential danger.        

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 family need.  Therefore, this protection comes because of the FMLA, which is a federal law.

Some states have enacted their own family leave legislation, which often gives protection beyond that provided under FMLA.  The Family and Medical Leave Act grants an employee up to 12 weeks of unpaid leave to care for qualified needs.  The act does not provide any compensation during this time away from work, but does insure that the employee can return to his or her job without penalty following the leave.

It is important to note that in most cases, if an employee fails to return to work once the 12 week FMLA leave period is over, then the employee can be fired.  Employers can choose to rehire the employee later, but there is no requirement that they must do so.

There are a few situations where the 12 FMLA week leave can be extended because of other circumstances.  A new law provides the next of kin of a wounded soldier with additional leave. Employers should be aware that if the leave is a result of a medical issue, which creates a disability, then the ADA requires that the employer make reasonable accommodation for that disability. In some cases, reasonable accommodation will include a modified work schedule or even additional unpaid leave.

An employee contract, or union contract, can also provide for additional time off beyond that provided by FMLA.  The employer may have also established a precedent by allowing other employees to take time off in excess of the 12 week FMLA leave.  Any of these scenarios could result in the employee being allowed to be away from work for extended periods while still maintaining employment.    

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 been called the “fluctuating work week plan”, the “Chinese overtime” plan, the “overseas overtime method” and the Belo plan.  The courts have ruled that this payment method can be lawfully implemented in certain business situations.

Federal law, as well as overtime laws in many states, require that employees be paid 1.5 times the employee’s usual hourly rate for hours in excess of 40.

Normally a worker receives a salary under the Belo plan. That salary covers the workers “straight time” regardless of how many hours he or she works per week.   Additional hours are then paid at a rate of 50% of the employee’s average rate for that week.

Normally a worker who received $10 per hour would be paid $400 for 40 hours. He or she would be entitled to $15 per hour for overtime, or an additional $150 for 10 hours of overtime. So an employee working 50 hours would be paid $550 for the week.

Under the Belo plan a worker is paid for a full 40 hours for every week of employment regardless of the number of hours worked.  Jack’s  salary on the Belo plan is $400 per week. As long as Jack works even one hour in the week, he must be paid for the entire week. The difference comes into play when Jack works more than 40 hours per week. In that case, the salary covers the “straight time” for all hours worked in the week, and Jack is paid just 50% of his average rate for overtime.

If Jack works 50 hours in one week for a salary of $400, under the Belo plan his average hourly rate is $8 for the week. That’s $400 divided by 50. Jack’s employer must pay him an additional $4 per hour for the 10 hours of overtime. So Jack is paid $440 for 50 hours of work.

Ironically, under the Belo plan, the employee earns less per hour when he puts in more hours. Under the usual overtime arrangement, employees earn 50% more for overtime.

Employees must agree to the Belo system in writing ahead of time, in order for it to be legal. Why would any employee agree to this? The Belo plan is very common in seasonal industries, such as resorts, and landscaping. Jack may feel that earning less during the busy season is alright, since he still draws full salary when he works only 4 hours per week during the slow season.

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.  Second, the employee’s cash wage plus tips must equal at least the state minimum wage.

Under the federal law and subsequent policies which have followed, and which regulate wages for tipped employees, salaried managers are not to share in the tips.  This law, the Fair Labor Standards Act, dates back to 1938.  It is enforced by the Wage and Hour Division of the United States Department of Labor.  Some states have enacted legislation, which establishes a state minimum wage for tipped workers that is higher than the federal standard.

Many service establishments, such as restaurants, have established customary “service charges” which they add to the customer’s bill.  This is especially done with larger groups.  These service charges are not considered tips under the present federal law.  The income generated from these charges must be reported by the employer and taxes must be paid on this revenue.  Employers do not report employee tip receipts.  An employer is not required to share these service charge receipts with tipped employees, although many employers do share. 

Employers may establish policies which mandate that all tipped employees share their tips by putting the tips into a “tip pool”.  Such a policy is appropriate if administered properly and if it excludes salaried managers.  This can help to lessen the concern tipped employees have about the location of their service station, particularly during “off hours or seasons.”

Policies providing for bartenders or persons busing tables to share in tips are also acceptable.  Often policies will establish set percentages which these workers will receive from the total tip.  Salaried managers do not generally share in this practice, although it may not violate federal law if managers were to receive a percentage of the tip in this way.  This practice of sharing with other service providers who are not actually serving to customer directly is called “tipping out.” 

Many employees wonder about collecting short term disability after an auto accident. Employees in Rhode Island, New York, New Jersey, Hawaii, and California all have the benefit of a state short term disability plan. Such plans provide government guaranteed income for eligible employees.

Workers in Connecticut and the remaining 44 states will find that they are not recipients of such a plan.  They should also understand that there is no federal program providing short term disability payments.  The Family and Medical Leave Act mandates that most employers provide up to 12 weeks of unpaid leave to those employees who have short term disabilities, which qualify them under the act.  The FMLA does not make any provision for income while the employee is away from work.

If the employee has a disability that is a result of a work-related injury, then there should be income from workers’ compensation.  Social security benefits would kick in of the disability extends to at least 5 months. 

Some employees have short term disability income as part of the benefit package provided by their employer.  Other employers make such a plan available to employees who wish to purchase such coverage.  But these plans are obviously not government guaranteed income plans, and they do not extend job protection beyond that provided by the FMLA.  

The state plan in California allows for up to 52 weeks of paid leave during which an employees job is secure.  The payment received is based upon 55% of the employee’s salary and has a top end of $728 per week.  Plans in the other 4 states are similar in their format but provide fewer weeks of paid leave.  The payment to salary ratio ranges from 50% to 60% or more.  In some cases the payments are funded through the state mandated payroll deductions, in other cases the state has put the responsibility on the employer by requiring the employer to provide coverage to all employees.   

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 their individual legislation in regards to this issue. In California, for instance, meal breaks as well as rest breaks are mandated by state law.  However, no state or federal regulation establishes a requirement to provide smokers with work place breaks. 

In Maryland, employers are allowed to determine how they handle this issue based upon their own commercial considerations.  Since there are no laws requiring any short coffee or rest breaks in Maryland, an employer may decide to eliminate all breaks from the workday.  Additional breaks for smokers are not required.

Few employers would choose the option of eliminating all breaks.  Most allow at least a couple of 5 to 10 minutes rest periods during the day, and most also provide for an unpaid meal break sometime during the work shift, partly because they improve productivity.

A problem can develop when smokers request additional breaks to smoke.  Historically, many businesses allowed such breaks or even allowed workers to smoke at their workstation.  Increased concern about health issues related to indoor smoking has led virtually all employers to end the practice of indoor smoking, and many to restrict the number and duration of smoke breaks. 

Typically, smokers who are allowed to take additional breaks are receiving the benefit of time away from their work responsibilities, which is paid for by the employer since these breaks are usually under the 20 minute federal benchmark for paid break times. Non-smokers are not normally granted commensurate time away from their workstations.  Therefore employers can find that they have a conflict developing in how they manage their smoking and non-smoking employees.  Because of this potential conflict, many employers are choosing to eliminate smoke breaks from the workplace.     

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 Act is a federal law that provides an employee with up to 12 weeks of unpaid leave for certain life events.  These include the birth of a child, a serious personal illness, the care of a seriously ill family member.  The care of a new child in the family is also covered no matter if the child is newly born, adopted or a new foster child.  Following a leave approved under this act, an employee must be returned to their previous job with no reduction of pay or benefits.

Many employees enjoy additional benefits that are a result of supplemental short term disability plans paid for by the employee.  They often offer substantially more weeks of paid time off that the 12 weeks of unpaid leave provided by FMLA.  These plans do not extend the job protection offered by FMLA.

Employers have the option of establishing policies that require that these short term plans be utilized prior to authorizing FMLA leave requests.  The US Department of Labor states that these policies are acceptable provided they are implemented fairly and that employees are informed of the policy prior to the start of any leave.  Notice should be in writing. 

Other employers may choose to take a different approach and require that the FMLA leave be immediately from the start of any short term disability leave.  Once again, this policy would be fine, provided it was implemented properly.  The point is that the choice is up to the employer to determine what best suits his or her business needs. 

In some other states, employers will also need to consider state mandated short term disability plans, but in Missouri, there is no applicable state statute.    

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 are left to the discretion of the employer.

In the past employees who smoked were often allowed to leave their work station and go outside to smoke. In years past, some employees could even smoke at their desks or workstation.  However, there are growing concerns about the hazards of smoking not only for the smoker, but also those who might develop problems from second hand smoke.  Therefore, many states have established laws regulating indoor smoking in the workplace.

Some employers still allow smokers to take breaks, but many do not.  One of the considerations is that brief breaks, those less than 20 minutes long, are required to be paid under federal law.  The Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 established this principle.  When a smoker goes out for a 5 minute smoke, he or she is being paid but not working.  To extend smoker breaks to 20 minutes in order to allow the break to be taken off the clock would be counter productive because of the extended amount of lost time.  So, many employers have completely eliminated additional breaks for smokers. 

Since New Jersey does not mandate breaks for workers, and since there is no federal law establishing breaks as an employee benefit, regulation of job site breaks remains primarily the prerogative of the employer.  Some states, such as California, have established breaks as a standard part of the work day, but New Jersey has no such regulation. 

Employers are able to manage rest breaks and meal breaks in a way that best suits their individual business needs.  An employer could choose to eliminate breaks completely from the workday.  Few businesses elect this option, but it is available to them. 

Employees who do smoke, and who find themselves in a job where they are allowed to take smoke breaks, should understand that this is a disappearing practice.

Some Florida employees who require short term disability leave from work may very well receive compensation. However, that compensation will not be a result of any government guaranteed short term disability coverage. This is true whether the disability is caused by an auto accident or not.

Florida is one of 45 states that do not provide guaranteed income for employees on short term disability.  The 5 states of New York, New Jersey, Rhode Island, California, and Hawaii have instituted state wide short term disability plans.  The plans provide coverage for anywhere from 26 weeks New Jersey, New York, and Hawaii to a full 52 weeks in California.  Compensation ranges from a low of 50% of usual income in New York to a high of up to 60% compensation in Rhode Island.

Even with the absence of a state wide plan, many employees will find that there is some help available to them.  If the short term disability is a result of a work-related injury, then workers’ compensation will offer some relief.  If the leave extends to 5 months or more then Social Security benefits might be available. 

Many employers offer short term disability plans.  Some include the plans as part of benefit packages offered to employees.  Other employers choose to offer plans, which can be purchased by the employee through the employer.  These plans vary widely in the benefits they afford. 

Employees should keep in mind that unpaid leave is guaranteed to most employees under the federal FMLA.  There is no income provided, but the employees’ job is protected for up to 12 weeks of authorized FMLA leave. 

The employee needs to also understand that short term disability income provided by some plans might extend past the 12 weeks of leave provided by FMLA, but these short term disability plans do not provide any form of job protection.  It is possible to receive short term disability payments for weeks after the employee’s job has been lost.  

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. Department of Labor, state law or company policy would determine how the leave was appropriated.

The FMLA does not protect an employee’s job for longer than the 12 week leave provided in the act.  Employers are free to adopt a policy that best meets their particular business needs.  Some employers may choose to implement a policy that requires an employee to count paid time off against the leave provided by the FMLA.  Such a policy is appropriate, provided it is conveyed clearly to the employee prior to the initiation of the leave.  It is important to provide this information in writing to the employee. 

Employers may require employees to use paid leave available to them as vacation or sick time prior to utilizing their FMLA leave.  Other employers could choose to allow the FMLA unpaid leave be utilized before any other time is charged.  Either policy is acceptable, provided it is in place prior to a leave beginning and provided it is administered fairly.  The option is available to the employer to choose a policy that works best.

What is important to remember is that no federal law, including the FMLA extends job protection past the 12 week unpaid provided by the FMLA.  Employers are under no obligation to hold a job position any longer than the 12 week period regardless of any provisions in any disability coverage, under federal law.  State law or individual contracts might add additional job guarantees.  

In fact, 5 other states have enacted mandates that extend short-term disability leave.  In California, for example, an employee can take as much as 1 year off in certain circumstances.  Employees and employers should become familiar with the regulations applicable in their particular state, as these rules do vary. 

Many of the current laws in Washington can be traced back to English common law.  In some cases, the original concept has limited application for us today, but it forms the basis on which the laws we do deal with have their roots.  In particular real estate laws through out the United States have many concepts that are based in English common law. 

Most people in the United States have never thought about it, but the justification for the validity of the title to any real estate that they own is based in common law.  Original titles came in the form of land grants or purchases by individuals from the states or colonies where the property was located.  The ownership of the land by the state or colony came from original land grants by the British crown.  The crown’s authority to grant land goes back to feudal England and the belief that land ownership ultimately reverts to the King.

In England, during feudal times, the King would give land grants to the lords.  The lord in a given area would then pass a grant on to commoners living on the land he had been granted. 

The concept of escheat remains as a part of land ownership in Washington today.  Land does not routinely revert to the state, because most people have developed wills to allow the individual to determine how his land or estate will be passed on.  However, if someone dies without a will, then the state will assume the responsibility of determining the rightful heirs.

 If the state determines that there are legal heirs, then the state will exercise its power to determine how the estate will be divided.  If the state decides there are no direct heirs, then it can make a determination to give the property to other relatives – aunts, uncles, grandparents.  If there are no remaining relatives then the state will take ownership of the property.  Such reversion to the state is called escheat.

Nevada does not offer any short term disability benefits to employees after an auto accident, or for any other reason, unless the injury is work-related.

Federal law protects employees in many ways.  Worker safety standards are set and maintained by federal agencies such as OSHA.  The federal government has prohibited discrimination in the workplace. It also actively enforces federal laws and regulations giving civil rights protections on the job.

The federal government even provides job protection for employees who must take a leave of absence from work in order to tend to serious health or family issues.  The law that mandates this protection is the Family and Medical Leave Act or FMLA.  Employees can request a leave for a number of qualifying life events.  The employee’s serious health condition, illness of a close family member, childbirth, care for a new foster child, and care for a newly adopted child are all covered under FMLA.  The leave can last a maximum of 12 weeks during any year.  The employee’s job is protected throughout the duration of the approved leave.  However, this act does not provide for any income to the employee.

Employees may receive income from a variety of sources.  Most often, any income the employee receives during a short term disability leave is a result of accumulated paid vacation or sick leave, or the result of some type of short term disability income plan.

Short term disability income plans often offer up to 26 weeks of payments to an employee during a leave of absence.  Some employers fund these plans as part of their benefit package to their employees.  Other businesses offer upgraded options to their health insurance plans that include short term income.  These are funded by the employee. 

Some states have established their own statewide short term income benefit plans but Nevada has not.  In fact, only 5 of the 50 states have such plans.  The plans a present are funded in one of two ways.  Some are funded by employers are required to provide the short term income by state law.  Other plans have been funded by payroll deduction.  In every case, the state plans provide more than double the allowable leave time and provide in excess of 50% of the employee’s normal income.    

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 law requiring employers to give short rest or “coffee” breaks.

The federal Fair Labor Standards Act requires that most employers, in any state, pay employees for any breaks given which are less than 20 minutes in duration.  Work breaks of more than 20 minutes, such as lunch breaks, can be unpaid provided the employee is relieved of all duties. Typically, employers who offer smoke breaks give breaks of 5 to 10 minutes and therefore they are paid breaks.  Few employers opt for breaks of over 20 minutes since they would be required to offer similar breaks to non-smoking employees and that would greatly reduce productivity.

In most states, employers can choose to work employees without offering any breaks of any length, paid or unpaid. Restroom breaks are permitted under OSHA regulations.  Lunch breaks or other times away from productive work are not required for employees over 18 years of age in most states.  This fact is true regardless of the length of the workday.

Few employers choose this option, and in some cases, contracts require employee breaks.  Union contracts in particular often stipulate such employee benefits.  However, fewer and fewer employers are providing smoking breaks for their employees.  Even in states like California where employee breaks are mandated, additional smoking breaks are not required.

Most employers offer a minimum of a 30 minute meal break and a couple of 5 to 10 minutes breaks during an 8 hour shift.  The meal break is usually off the clock while the shorter breaks are paid time.  Many employees fail to realize the impact paid breaks can have on productivity, so smokers sometimes ask for additional breaks.  

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 disability leave.  Each of these plans varies in the protections they provide with California offering a full year of disability leave for severe situations supported by a physician’s certification. 

Some South Carolina employers provide additional PTO or short term disability benefits, but they are not required to do so.

The FMLA protects an employee’s job for up to 12 weeks of unpaid leave in a 12-month period.  The act allows employees to request leave for a serious health condition, childbirth, care for a new child, or care for a seriously ill family member. The leave FMLA provides is without pay, and no federal law provides any extension of that protected time period. 

Employers are free to offer additional paid leave to employees under separate plans usually provided by private carriers.  This plans may offer paid leave, but do not provide extended job protection.  Employers may choose to allow employees to utilize their paid leave first, before taking their FMLA time, or they may choose to require that the FMLA time be applied to the beginning of any work leave. The option is up to the employer. 

According to the U. S. Department of Labor, while the employer may choose a variety of ways to implement leave, there are several principles, which must be honored.  One is that the policy must be in place, and an employee informed of the policy prior to the leave beginning.  This notification should always be in writing.  Secondly, the policy must provide the 12 week unpaid leave established by FMLA.  Thirdly, the policy must be administered fairly and without discrimination.

Under the federal law, once an employee has utilized his or her 12 week unpaid leave time provided by FMLA, he or she must return to work or risk the loss of their job.  The choice of whether to reinstate the employee if he or she chooses to stay out of work past the 12 week period, rests entirely with the company.    

In West Virginia, the term “escheat” refers to the transfer of title to the state, from a private individual.  The term generally relates to real estate, but it can pertain to all types of property.  Some individuals might have seen the term, but most people even if they recognize the word, do not really understand what it means. 

The concept of escheat goes back to common law in England.  In those days, all of the land ultimately belonged to the “crown”.  The king would give land grants to feudal lords.  The lords would in turn give grants to the workers or serfs.  These grants were called fiefs.  Commoners had no wills and no property, all the land belonged to the King, so when a tenant died, his fief would revert to the King.  After a designated period, the king would grant the land back to the lord who would establish another fief with another worker.  Escheat occurred when the land reverted to the king.   

Even though some land ownership in the United States is the result of land grants from the British crown, the concept of escheat in the U. S.  has very limited application. 

Still there are those individuals who die intestate.  This simply means they die without a legal will, which designates how their property is to be distributed after their demise.  When there are remaining family members, then the property will be passed on to those individuals in accordance with state law.  However, if the individual has no living relatives at all, then the property passes to the state, in escheat.   

The property might be in the form of real estate, or might be some other type of property such as money in a bank account. 

A simple way to insure that such a situation can never occur is to write a will that establishes how you want your property to be distributed after your death.

 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, are unaware that there is no state or federal law that mandates breaks during the workday for adult workers.  Employers are allowed to determine what breaks, if any, are most productive in their particular workplace.  The decision can be based upon the particular needs faced by the individual business situation. 

This is not the case in all 50 states.  Some states including California have enacted legislation to give almost all workers minimum break times during the workday.  Additionally, there is federal law determining which breaks must be paid and which ones can be unpaid.  As long ago as 1938, the federal government determined that any workplace break, less than 20 minutes in duration, must be taken “on the clock”.  Consequently, most breaks taken by workers during the workday are paid breaks.  The notable exception would be meal breaks, which are typically at least 30 minutes in length. They may be unpaid, if the employee is relieved of all work duties.  

Frequently, smokers have requested additional time away from the workstation to smoke.  Since these breaks are usually brief in nature, they would be breaks paid for by the employer.  When such breaks are granted, they are not typically extended to non-smokers as well.  This situation presents a problem to employers.  They must determine whether to allow smoke breaks at all.   

There are several options for the employer.  One would be to approve smoke breaks and allow there to be a disparity between time on task by smokers and non-smokers.  A second alternative would be to not allow any smoke breaks.  A third option would be to extend smoke breaks to 20 minutes so that they are not paid.  This option would lead to even more time away from the workstation. 

Because of the potential for unfairness, and because of increased concern over indoor smoking, many employers are opting for the eliminat