What do Cingular, T-Mobile, Perdue Farms, Einstein Brothers Bagels, Rite Aid,
U-Haul and Taco Bell have in common? These companies all reached settlements
for alleged violations of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), ranging from
$.5 million to $25 million.
Employers can be liable for up to three years of back pay for FLSA violations,
and for fiscal year 2006 the Wage and Hour Division of the U.S. Department
of Labor (DOL) collected more than $171.5 million in back pay from employers
and assessed more than $2.9 million in penalties. This does not include the
cost of lost time in responding to audits and the "bad press" that
results. The costs are significant for employers who fail to take the steps
necessary to bring their operations in compliance.
The FLSA was first enacted in 1938 and established the minimum wage and overtime
pay standards which affect almost all employees and employers. In 2004, the
DOL updated the antiquated regulations by eliminating references to outdated
job titles, recognizing changes in the way employers operate and increasing
the dollar thresholds to account for inflation. As a result, according to the
DOL, 1.3 million workers previously not qualified for overtime pay are now
qualified under the new regulations. Due to these changes, employers need to
review the way that they classify jobs in their organization to ensure that
the classifications are in compliance, and that they are paying employees for
overtime worked as required.
The Human Resource Department (THRD) is a human resource project outsourcing
company with in-depth expertise in FLSA compliance. We will:
identify those jobs in your organization that require in-depth review
of the exempt/nonexempt classification. These are typically jobs that are
low level exempt (should they be nonexempt?) or high level nonexempt (should
they be exempt?)
collect information from job holders and/or supervisors
to determine job content
analyze the job content and determine the correct
classification
provide expert consultation on implementing any changes to
classifications
THRD will evaluate your jobs using the required salary basis, salary level
and job duties tests (i.e. executive, professional, administrative, outside
sales, computer-related, highly compensated employees) and provide a full report
of findings and recommendations, in an easy to follow format.
Our work will be timely with a high priority on attention to detail. If there
should be an FLSA compliance audit we will be available to provide technical
support as needed.
Our project managers, led by an attorney with extensive human resource compliance
experience, are highly qualified to provide these critical services for your
organization. For further information, contact
us.
