Overtime

Paycheck Fairness Act fails in the Senate, plus other news…

June 6, 2012 | by Eric B. Meyer

Billed as a way to provide more effective remedies to victims of discrimination in the payment of wages on the basis of sex, the Paycheck Fairness Act, did not make it out of the Senate yesterday. The Paycheck Fairness Act earned 52 votes in favor of proceeding to final consideration, eight votes shy of the 60 votes necessary for cloture. The vote came down strictly along party lines, with the two independent senators voting with the Democrats and Sen. Mark Kirk (R-Ill.) not voting. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) changed his vote so that he could bring the bill up again.

In other news…

The Eleventh Circuit Court of appeals ruled on Monday that Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 permits claims for retaliatory hostile work environment. The decision brings the Eleventh Circuit in line with everyone else.

That’s what he said: “Oktoberfest” & “No OT for you!”

May 9, 2012 | by Eric B. Meyer

Cool image, huh? I drawed it myself. The fact that I took the time to do that suggests that I am in no condition to blog intelligently. Plus, Pandora is on the fritz, so I am all sorts of pissy. Therefore, before I turn out the lights and lock the door at the office, how about some Slipknot — anger issues, Eric? — and “That’s what he said” after the jump…

* * *

Fact or Fiction: FLSA preempts state wage and hour laws?

March 29, 2012 | by Eric B. Meyer

That’s right folks. It’s time for another edition of “Fact or Fiction” a/k/a “Quick Answers to Quick Questions” a/k/a QATQQ f/k/a “I don’t feel like writing a long blog post” d/b/a (just for today) “Eric’s 36th-Birthday Post”.

*** Sigh ***

Ahh…let’s get to today’s question:

6 keys to keeping unpaid internships from becoming a hot wage & hour mess

March 28, 2012 | by Eric B. Meyer

Yesterday, I presented “Reducing the Risk of Wage and Hour Litigation” with my partner, Jennifer Platzkere Snyder, at ALM’s In-House Counsel Labor and Employment Law Forum. We talked best practices, common mistakes, and Supreme Court.

We also dipped into some hot issues, the hottest of which, by far, based on audience engagement, was unpaid internships. Oh boy, is it easy for companies to potentially screw up unpaid internships. Just ask Charlie Rose and Harper’s Bazaar.

Want to get ’em right without running afoul of the Fair Labor Standards Act. Six steps to success follow after the jump…

* * *

Your favorite “The Employer Handbook” posts from 2011

December 30, 2011 | by Eric B. Meyer

As the year draws to a close, let’s take a look back at the most popular posts at The Employer Handbook in 2011, based on number of hits:

5. Social media and the workplace. School teacher Natalie Munroe made several appearances on the blog this year. Remember her? She was the blogging school teacher who wrote that her students were “utterly loathsome in all imaginable ways.” Although, Ms. Munroe eventually returned to work, her experience is a sound reminder to always think twice before hitting “send.” You can read the fifth-most-popular post, “Yes, you CAN discipline employees who abuse social media” here.

4. I’m a poet and I don’t even know it. I’m not sure what inspired the fourth-most-popular post. It must have been a slow news day. How else do I come up with the idea to Haiku — verbing a noun, sorry — about recent employment-law decisions from the U.S. Supreme Court?

When your employee works OT on the QT, must you pay it?

December 15, 2011 | by Eric B. Meyer

That was the question that the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals faced in an opinion released yesterday. I’ll provide the answer and some analysis after the jump…

* * *

Welcome to the Employment Law Blog Carnival: Jukebox edition!

July 20, 2011 | by Eric B. Meyer

The Employment Law Blog Carnival has finally rolled into town.

What is a blog carnival? It is a collection of links on a particular topic — here, employment law — that bloggers have submitted to me, which I then arrange around a particular theme.

For this edition of the Carnival, it’s DJ-ESkeelz on the one and two, with a music-themed employment-law blog carnival. I’ve got 13 hot joints (read: 13 links to employment-law articles from some of the blogosphere’s best…)

* * *

Pornographers need employment lawyers too, you know.

July 14, 2011 | by Eric B. Meyer

Welcome everyone to the ~~first~~ last edition of T&A Thursday, where I update you on all that’s going on in the world of porn and employment law.

After the jump, it’s all the news that’s barely fit to print. (At least it’s safe for work)…

* * *

This term’s top 5 employment-law Supreme Court rulings…in haiku

July 7, 2011 | by Eric B. Meyer

Last month, the Supreme Court handed down – if not the most important – certainly, the highest-profile decision of this term with Wal-Mart v. Dukes. However, in addition to this headline-grabber, this term saw four other significant employment-law decisions from the High Court about which employers must take note.

After the jump, I revisit each case…in haiku.

* * *

Could the Beastie Boys collect overtime pay in Pennsylvania?

June 28, 2011 | by Eric B. Meyer

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z5rRZdiu1UE

If Cochese and Bobby, “The Rookie” were working mall security in Pennsylvania, would their employer have to pay them for the time they spend keeping those uniforms looking 80s-spiffy? If it were up to one Pennsylvania federal court, they would be SOL.

You’ll see what I mean once you hit the jump…

* * *