For many of us, August is a slow month. Every week it seems like either our employees or our clients are on vacation and nothing ever gets done. If you find yourself with a few extra minutes, you should take the time to ask yourself those nagging wage and hour questions you’ve been hearing so much about.
- Have you figured out who in your business is an employee and who is an independent contractor?
- Once you figure out who the employees are, do you know who is exempt from overtime and who is not?
- Are you making sure nonexempt employees are being paid for all hours worked even if they are not working?
Remember, if a nonexempt employee sits at his desk to take his lunch break, but his supervisor asks him to watch the phones, even if the phone never rings, you still should have paid him for that time. It is little situations such as this which can create overtime obligations which add up to huge back pay awards. So take time this month to assess your pay practices and make sure your policies are in order before the fall comes around and we all get busy again.
