9
Jul
2019
Last week the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division published three Opinion Letters on various wage and hour issues. Opinion Letters provide guidance on wage and hour questions but do not bind a court to its position on that question or issue. The three opinion letters address compliance issues surrounding overtime pay in various aspects.
2
At ASE we often get questions from our members about proper overtime pay calculation when different pay plans are at play. To calculate overtime pay for non-exempt hourly employees correctly, one should first determine a few things.
25
Jun
The Trump National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) continues its pro-business course. Until 2017, the NLRB regularly attacked employer rules that it deemed restrictive, directly or indirectly, on employees' right to organize. Employers, including non-union, were compelled to review employee handbook policies/rules to correct rules that were viewed as restrictive toward union organizing rights.
18
The Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals, whose jurisdiction includes Michigan, ruled against a machine parts manufacturer last August when it overturned a lower court decision that held an employee’s severance agreement barred her lawsuit alleging Title VII discrimination and violation of the Equal Pay Act.
11
ASE receives many calls regarding assessment tools to evaluate employment candidates. There are many testing instruments in the market that test for job skills, intellectual acumen, and candidate-to-job personality fit.
4
Late last year Michigan passed a minimum wage increase that increased this state’s minimum wage for the next 10 years. It also passed the Paid Medical Leave Act requiring employers with over 50 employees to provide five paid days off.
28
May
In response to Michigan becoming only the tenth state to legalize recreational use of marijuana, ASE is now sponsoring a class to train supervisors, managers, HR professionals, and others to address reasonable suspicion behavior. Despite marijuana use being legalized in Michigan, employers have control to prohibit an employee from being under the influence of marijuana, just like alcohol, at work.
21
As we noted a couple of weeks ago in the EPTW article, Summer Interns – To Pay or Not to Pay, employers operating internships must know what is required of them, and many may also be minors. Most internships should be paid ones pursuant to the law.
14
Did you know friendship as a hiring factor can beat off a discrimination allegation? A recent Michigan Court of Appeals ruling affirms other court decisions holding the same.
7
For years economists and others have wondered when wages would start to rise. Economic theory and past labor experience predicts that when unemployment becomes low, pay goes up. The rise in pay is a result of employers being forced pay more in order to attract the reduced amount of workers that are available.
30
Apr
As EPTW readers know, joint employment, independent contractors, and worker misclassification confusion has been an ongoing federal concern. New federal joint employer regulations were published by the U.S. Department of Labor late last month.
23
As summer approaches and the colleges empty out, many employers may be gearing up for a new batch of summer interns. Though ASE surveys show many employers pay their interns, some intern positions may be set up as unpaid because the work experience is what counts, right? The Department of Labor has a seven-part test to determine if an internship should be classified paid or unpaid.
16
Employers that have franchise operations, engage independent contractors, or both have had the rules and protections that come with these business relationships turned on their heads in recent years. A newly proposed 4-factor test may simplify things.
26
Mar
The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) issued an Opinion Letter clarifying how employers must go about allowing an employee to use other time off (paid or unpaid) in conjunction with the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) requirements.
19
12
8
Late yesterday, the U.S. Department of Labor published its new proposed rule raising the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) “white collar” exemption to $35,308/year or $679/week from $23,660/yr. or $455/week. The salary level test is one of three criteria that must be met to legally exempt an employee from overtime and some recordkeeping requirements.
5
Feb
One of the most basic supervisory/human resource responsibilities should be documentation of performance and disciplinary actions; however, it is often the most neglected. Notes and write-ups as well as formal performance reviews need to be consistently conducted and maintained on record by the employer.
With the passage of and impending enactment date (March 29, 2019) of Michigan’s new Paid Medical Leave Act, employers that are covered are hastily reviewing their existing vacation, sick, and personal time, as well as formal Paid Time Off benefits and policies to see how far off they may be from compliance with the new law.
29
Jan
22
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