What was the #1 Employer Audit this Past Year? Wage & Hour!
I am very pleased that many of you have found my blog posts both interesting and applicable to your business. Many of you have written to me about topics you were interested in and desire advice. The number one (#1) issue that most companies struggle with is the Wage and Hour regulations. Therefore, I have posted a quick audit checklist for you to use in assessing whether or not your company is complying with the wage and hour laws and regulations.
The Department of Labor (DOL) has been rigorous in their audits. Several of my clients have had desk audits this year on the wage and hour regulations. We do not anticipate those audits to be less in the coming year.
I hope you will start the New Year off by auditing your company policy and procedures to ensure compliance and avoid penalties!
Here are some of the questions the Department of Labor will ask employers during an audit:
- Do you examine the duties of your salaried employees and not just their titles or how they are paid in determining whether they are exempt? What kind of docking or deductions from exempt employees’ salary do you do? Are you sure it falls within a permissible exception?
- Do you round off time to no more than the nearest five minutes or a tenth of an hour when calculating work time?
- Do you pay all non-exempt employees at least the federal required $7.25 per hour and $10.86 for overtime work (or, the applicable state minimum wage)? Are you including all appropriate amounts received by the employee into the regular rate for purposes of determining the overtime rate? What about bonuses?
- Do you verify that your leased or temporary employees are paid in compliance with the wage and hour laws?
Our hope is that you will have a prosperous new year! Please call our firm if we can be of service to your company.
Download a complimentary Wage & Hour Audit Checklist.
Reference: Kirila, J. (8/24/2012).Can You Spot Your Wage & Hour Problems? http://www.employmentlawworldview.com/965/
Dol.gov
