Pay overtime or pay up!

As we’ve mentioned in previous editions of The Employer’s Advantage, the US Department of Labor is significantly stepping up its oversight and regulatory enforcement activities. As proof, the Department of Labor announced that employers who intentionally or unintentionally fail to comply with federal regulations will be liable for back pay AND liquidated damages. In the past, liquidated damages were only assessed for intentional violations.

To support this increased regulatory intervention, the DOL has hired over 1,500 new compliance officers.

We cannot emphasize enough the importance of accurately tracking hours worked and paying overtime at one and one-half times the hourly rate for any work done in excess of 40 hours per week. Even if employees volunteer to work overtime without pay or work overtime without permission, THEY MUST BE PAID.

For private sector employers comp time unless taken in the work week in which it is earned is not permissible. While the public sector has enjoyed the flexibility of comp time for over two decades, federal law strictly prohibits private employers from doing so.

Paying employees on a salaried basis DOES NOT alleviate overtime pay requirements. ALL employees must be paid overtime regardless of whether they are paid hourly or a salary unless the employee’s specific job duties qualify for a federal overtime exemption.

For your protection, establish and distribute your pay policy to all employees. Ensure first line supervisors are particularly familiar with the policy and understand that violation of the policy may lead to disciplinary action, up to and including discharge.

Pay issues are coming to the legal forefront and they are costly in time and money. To avoid problems with the regulators, ensure you scrupulously comply with every aspect of federal wage and hour law.

The BAI employee opinion survey will let you take your organization’s temperature!

The BAI employee opinion survey process is an invaluable tool that secures and analyzes employee perceptions on a variety of critical business issues. Not only does it generate the hard data required to make sound decisions related to successfully managing employees, it helps identify training needs, potential discrimination or harassment problems, perceived salary inequities, possible union organizing initiatives and a myriad of other issues that cost organization’s valuable time, attention and money.

Ultimately, the BAI employee opinion survey process creates greater employee commitment to the organization and its ongoing success by giving employees an opportunity to share their opinions and perspectives in a meaningful way.

To learn more about this and other BAI services and workshops, call us today at 801.444.9919.