The US Department of Labor has stepped up its enforcement efforts in this area in part by adding investigators. Wage and hour lawsuits are on the rise and often end up costing employers multi-millions of dollars. In addition to the unpaid wages, you can end up owing the same amount in liquidated damages that's right, double the amount of unpaid straight time and overtime pay.
If that's not enough, as long as an employee wins even one penny of unpaid wages, you can also be on the hook for the employee's attorney fees. Since many wage and hour cases are class action lawsuits, the amount of money damages can multiply exponentially. While employers have a basic understanding of wage payment issues, dealing with supplemental pay can present their challenges.
Add to that, the DOL's new overtime rules about certain positions categorized as 'exempt' are likely to take effect by January 2020. The main component of these rules is that the salary threshold will increase, pushing many otherwise exempt employees into the non-exempt (aka overtime eligible) category.
If that's not enough, as long as an employee wins even one penny of unpaid wages, you can also be on the hook for the employee's attorney fees. Since many wage and hour cases are class action lawsuits, the amount of money damages can multiply exponentially. While employers have a basic understanding of wage payment issues, dealing with supplemental pay can present their challenges.
Add to that, the DOL's new overtime rules about certain positions categorized as 'exempt' are likely to take effect by January 2020. The main component of these rules is that the salary threshold will increase, pushing many otherwise exempt employees into the non-exempt (aka overtime eligible) category.
Why you should Attend
This session will help you understand areas such as when you may and may not have to pay employees to get dressed and undressed (known as 'donning and doffing' cases); when you do and do not have to pay them for time spent traveling; when you do and do not have to pay them for breaks or on-call time or even time spent breastfeeding, in addition to which employees, may no longer be overtime exempt under the new overtime rules and what you should do to be prepared. By attending this session you can minimize your chances of DOL investigations and/or audits and wage and hour lawsuits.Areas Covered in the Session
- Understanding who is a covered employer/employee
- Overtime basics
- On-call & waiting time
- Meals, rest, and sleeping breaks
- Why or when do you have to pay for breastfeeding
- Commuting v local v long-distance travel
- Training time
- Preliminary/preliminary activities
- Recordkeeping requirements
- Practical steps to take in anticipation of the new overtime rule's finalization to stay off the DOL's radar
- The difference between the newly proposed DOL rule on overtime exemptions and the Obama-era proposal concerning White collar exemptions, salary basis, and more
- How the proposed rule will affect highly compensated employees
- Updates to salaries to keep up with the cost of living
- How bonuses will factor into the salary threshold for exemption
Speaker
Janette S Levey “The Employer’s Lawyer” has over 20 years of legal experience, more than 10 of which she has spent in Employment Law. It was during her tenure as sole in-house counsel for a mid-size staffing company headquartered in Central New Jersey, with operations all over the continental US, that she truly developed her passion for Employment Law.
Who Should Attend
- Compensation officers
- Payroll
- Human Resources
- Senior Managers
- Business Owners
- CFO's
- Controllers
