How to Avoid Costly Wage and Hourly Pitfalls for Construction, Engineering, and Landscaping...
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Transcript of How to Avoid Costly Wage and Hourly Pitfalls for Construction, Engineering, and Landscaping...
How to Avoid Costly Wage & Hour Pitfalls for Construction,
Engineering & Landscaping Employers
Featuring Seyfarth Shaw LLP
©2012 Seyfarth Shaw LLP
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Welcome
Michelle Lanter Smith
Chief Marketing OfficerEPAY Systems, [email protected]
Today’s Host
©2012 Seyfarth Shaw LLP
EPAY Systems -- designed to meet the needs of your complex,
distributed workforce
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• Reduce your labor costs by 5% or more
• Keep you in control and in compliance
©2012 Seyfarth Shaw LLP
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Today’s Discussion
Federal court filings of wage and hour class and collective actions have increased more than 500% since 2000.
Are you at risk?
©2012 Seyfarth Shaw LLP
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Our Speakers
Kyle A. PetersenAssociate, Seyfarth Shaw LLPLabor & [email protected](312) 460 -5000
Rebecca P. BrometPartner, Seyfarth Shaw LLPLabor & [email protected](312) 460 - 5000
©2012 Seyfarth Shaw LLP
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Ask Your Questions
To ask a question, simply type your question in the “Question”
box on the right side of your screen.
©2012 Seyfarth Shaw LLP
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Overview: Trends for 2013
• Litigation trendso Continued aggressive plaintiffs’ bar and agency
• Increased agency enforcement
• Compliance Risks – Surprise!!!
• “Riskiest” times of day.
o Pre & Post Shifto Meal Timeso Travel time
• Simple Safeguards
©2012 Seyfarth Shaw LLP
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Trends
• Aggressive plaintiffs’ law firms have created consortiums, jointly filing class/collective suits
• In recent years, plaintiffs’ firms have employed an industry-specific approach when it comes to wage & hour litigationo One firm successfully targets an industry and is
quickly followed by other plaintiffs’ firms who target other employers in that industry
©2012 Seyfarth Shaw LLP
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Trends Continued
• Aggressive outreach efforts to identify potential plaintiffso Outside companies sending email blasts to employees of
target companieso Ads on Facebook, Twitter
• 7064 lawsuits filed under the Fair Labor Standards Act (“FLSA”) in 2012 o Record high numbero State wage-and-hour actions raise this number significantlyo Of all state and federal class or collective actions filed in the
U.S., vast majority are wage and hour claims
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Top 10 Private W&HSettlements in 2012
1. $99 Million – Novartis (misclassification of pharma sales reps)
2. $40 Million – Merrill Lynch (wage claims related to merger)
3. $35 Million – H&R Block (timeliness of payments)
4. $21 Million – Rite Aid (misclassification of ass’t store mgs)
5. $20 Million – City of New York (misclassification of police sergeants)
6. $19 Million – Robert Half (misclassification of recruiters)
7. $15.6 Million – HSBC Bank (misclassification of bankers, managers, & specialists)
8. $15.5 Million –Conoco Phillips (failure to provide meal breaks)
9. $14 Million – Family Dollar (misclassification of store managers)
10. $12.9 Million – Spearmint Rhino Cos. Worldwide, Inc. (independent contractor misclassification)
©2012 Seyfarth Shaw LLP
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FLSA Cases in Federal Court1993-2012
©2012 Seyfarth Shaw LLP
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WHD Continues To Be Aggressive
• Increase in targeted investigations in low-wage/high risk industries
• Increase in corporate-wide investigations
• Assessment of liquidated damages, penalties, and other sanctions
• Grass Roots Campaign:o Continued push of “Bridge to Justice” and “We Can Help”
Partnering with community and worker organizations to increase employee awareness
Referring certain cases to private attorneys to initiate litigation
©2012 Seyfarth Shaw LLP
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Increased WHD Enforcement Capabilities
Number of Wage and Hour Division Investigators, 1987 to 2011
951 952
970
938
835
804 800809
942 942 938949 945
898
850
788773
751
732
865
781
731
893
950
1,006
600
650
700
750
800
850
900
950
1,000
1,050
1,100
1987 1989 1991 1993 1995 1997 1999 2001 2003 2005 2007 2009 2011
Applied Econom ic Strategies , us ing U.S. Departm ent of Labor, Wage and Hour Divis ion data.
©2012 Seyfarth Shaw LLP
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Compliance With The FLSA Is Not Easy
• The Fair Labor Standards Act was enacted in 1938o Minimum Wageo Overtimeo Child Labor
• Amended 44 Times
• Well Over 50 Statutory Exemptions
• Over 700 Pages of Regulatory Text
• 14-15 Public Chapters of Field Operations Handbook
• 350+ Opinion Letters Since 2000
• Does Not Preempt State Law
• Generally Cannot Be Overruled by CBA©2012 Seyfarth Shaw LLP
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Mistake #1
• Employees have to pay for their own uniforms no matter what.
• Key issues:o Are the uniforms generic or elaborate?o Do employees authorize the deduction?o Does the deduction make their pay fall below
minimum wage?o Are they responsible for cleaning the
uniform?
©2012 Seyfarth Shaw LLP
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A Few Simple Safeguards
• Receive authorization for the deduction (if required by state law).
• Do not count a uniform as a credit against wages.
• Make sure that the cost of uniform deductions does not reduce pay below minimum wage.
©2012 Seyfarth Shaw LLP
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Mistake #2
• Requiring individuals to show up at work and wait to clock-in.
• Key Issues:o How long in advance of the shift are they
required to arrive at the job site or central location?
o Are employees free to use this time for their own purposes?
o Are they disciplined or prevented from working if they do not show up at the required time?
o Waiting to work- you don’t have to exert yourself to be working.
©2012 Seyfarth Shaw LLP
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A Few Simple Safeguards
• Only require people to be at work by their scheduled start time.
• If employees are required to be at work by a certain time and employees are there by that time, pay the employees starting at that time.
• Only discipline individuals who are tardy for their scheduled start time, not the early arrival requirement.
©2012 Seyfarth Shaw LLP
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Mistake #3
• Not including all required time in the calculation of hours worked
• Key issues:o Pay for pre- and post-shift activities
(loading/unloading; donning & doffing; etc.)o Is the activity “integral and indispensable” to
employees’ principal work activities (and therefore compensable)?
o Do the employer’s rules or the nature of the work require it?
o If an employee continues to work voluntarily after the end of his shift and the employer knows or has reason to know, that time is considered working time
©2012 Seyfarth Shaw LLP
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A Few Simple Safeguards
• Do not let hourly employees start working until they are on the clock (but don’t require them to be there before they are allowed to clock in).
• Pay attention and make sure that people are not working after they clock out.
• Have employees verify each pay period that they have been paid for all time worked.
©2012 Seyfarth Shaw LLP
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Mistake #4
• We don’t pay employees to ride in a truck.
• Key issues:o Home to work, or vice versa, typically is not
compensableo Between job sites is part of the “continuous workday”
and must be paido If you don’t pay it, how do we track the time? Could be
a recordkeeping issue if a lawsuit is filed.
©2012 Seyfarth Shaw LLP
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A Few Simple Safeguards
• Keep track of the job sites employees are working at each day.
• Do not stop the clock for travel between sites, unless there is a bona fide meal period taken during the travel time.
©2012 Seyfarth Shaw LLP
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Polling Question
• Do you use an automatic meal period deduction?
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Mistake #5
• Automatically deducting for meal periods, even if not taken.
• Key issues:o Do they actually take a break?o Completely relieved from duty?o If they get interrupted during their
meal period, are they paid for the interruption?
©2012 Seyfarth Shaw LLP
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A Few Simple Safeguards
• Implement a policy that only uninterrupted meal periods are unpaid.
• Implement a system to allow employees to document if they did not take or did not get their full meal period.
• Keep records.
• Have employees verify that any time deducted each pay period is accurate.
©2012 Seyfarth Shaw LLP
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Mistake #6
• Failure to take a strong stand against off-the-clock work
• Key issues:o Failure to properly compensate for all hours worked
= most frequently cited violation by WHD (in terms of numbers of employees affected) in the course of its investigations
o A number of states have recently enacted anti-wage theft laws
©2012 Seyfarth Shaw LLP
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A Few Simple Safeguards
• Implement strong policies and set expectations.
• Train managers to look out for and report off the clock work.
• Train employees on your policies.
©2012 Seyfarth Shaw LLP
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Polling Question
• True/False: All managers are exempt and do not need to be paid overtime.
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Mistake #7
• We call them “manager” or “foreman,” so they don’t get overtime.
• Key Issues:o Recommendations for hiring/firing given
particular weight?o Too much work like those who are
supervised?o Sufficient pay distinction between hourly
employees and manager or foreman?
Easy case to certify as a collective/class action.
©2012 Seyfarth Shaw LLP
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Mistake #8
• They are “engineers,” so they don’t qualify for overtime, either.
• Key Issues:o Performing work requiring advanced knowledge
in science or learning customarily acquired by prolonged course of study?
o Is the work intellectual? Do they have independent judgment and discretion?
o Do they have an advanced degree? Apprenticeships or on the job training doesn’t cut it.
©2012 Seyfarth Shaw LLP
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Polling Question
• True/False: Employers can avoid all of these overtime problems simply by using independent contractors.
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Mistake #9
• Labeling everyone an independent contractor.
• Key issues:o How much control is there over their work?o How long have they been working with you?o Are they providing a special service or skill?o Does the worker invest in their own equipment
and materials? Provide their own employees?o Is the work an integral part of your business?
©2012 Seyfarth Shaw LLP
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A Few Simple Safeguards
• Auditing pay practices & exempt status at direction of counsel.
• Review pay practices.
• Review exempt status classifications.
• Know state laws where you operate.
©2012 Seyfarth Shaw LLP
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Mistake #10
• Paying undocumented workers in cash and off the books.
• Key issues:o Under the table payments run afoul of state and
federal recordkeeping and reporting requirements.o Minimum wage applies.o All hours worked must be paid, including overtime
pay.
©2012 Seyfarth Shaw LLP
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A Few Simple Safeguards
• Always pay hourly, non-exempt employees at least minimum wage for all hours worked and time and a half for overtime.
• Report and keep records of all hours worked and all wages paid.
• Ensure compliance with all employment-eligibility laws.
©2012 Seyfarth Shaw LLP
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EPAY Systems
Michelle Lanter Smith
Chief Marketing OfficerEPAY Systems, Inc.
©2012 Seyfarth Shaw LLP
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EPAY -- In Time with You
Uniquely flexible
Mobile workforce,
union contracts,
multiple job assignments?
Complex pay rules?
No problem!
©2012 Seyfarth Shaw LLP
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Reduce your labor costs
Reduce administration time in preparing payroll
Eliminate erroneous pay calculations, time rounding, and management inconsistencies
Eliminate buddy punching
Biometric time clocks with camera and finger print reader
Reduce costs associated with paper checks. Save an average of $2.87 per pay period/per employee.
or more!
©2012 Seyfarth Shaw LLP
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• Audit Trails• Overtime• Meal Breaks• Pay Differentials• Privacy and Security• Reduce Workers
Comp Claims• Did you have an
accident free day?
Minimize Compliance Risk
©2012 Seyfarth Shaw LLP
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Over 40,000 customer sites
©2012 Seyfarth Shaw LLP
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Blueforce adapts to how YOU do business
Easy, Anywhere Time Tracking
©2012 Seyfarth Shaw LLP
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Upcoming Education
• Public Demonstration: Time & Labor Management for the Distributed Workforce o March 14: 10:00 cst
Register at www.EPAYsystems.com
©2012 Seyfarth Shaw LLP
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Upcoming Education
Compliance Webinar Series with Seyfarth Shaw LLP
• How to Avoid Costly Wage & Hour Pitfalls Employers in the Staffing and Security Industries. May 8: 12:00 cst
• California Wage & Hour Labor Law--Avoiding Common Pitfalls with a Distributed Workforce. June 26: 12:00 cst
• How to Avoid Costly Wage & Hour Pitfalls for Healthcare Employers with a Distributed Workforce. Sept 25: 12:00 cst
• How to Avoid Costly Wage & Hour Pitfalls for Employers in the Hospitality Industry. Nov 6: 12:00 cst
Register at www.EPAYsystems.com
©2012 Seyfarth Shaw LLP
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Thank You!
Kyle A. PetersenAssociate, Seyfarth Shaw LLPLabor & [email protected](312) 460-5000
Rebecca P. BrometPartner, Seyfarth Shaw LLPLabor & [email protected](312) 460-5000
©2012 Seyfarth Shaw LLP
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Connect with us
Bonus!
Receive Seyfarth Shaw’s newly published report,
Trend Watch: The Savvy Employers’ Guide to Wage & Hour Lawsuits.
Connect with EPAY on:o LinkedIn – follow our company page at
EPAY Systemso Twitter -- @EPAYsystemso Sign up for our e- newsletter at
EPAYsystems.com
©2012 Seyfarth Shaw LLP
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Thank You!
©2012 Seyfarth Shaw LLP