Wages, Work Hours And The Law

How should an employer decide how much to pay workers?

The first thing to consider when determining how to compensate your workers is the federal and state regulations governing compensation, and your primary concern is going to be that you're at least paying your workers minimum wage. As a business decision, you will probably want to consider the going market value of those services, the nature of the business and seniority of the position, and some other factors such as that.

What is the 'Fair Labor Standards Act'?

The Fair Labor Standards Act, or the FLSA, is the Federal statute that governs wages paid to a worker. It covers overtime, it covers minimum wage, and it also addresses child labor laws.

Are employers required to pay minimum wage to employees who receive tips?

Whether or not an employer is required to pay minimum wage to employees who receive tips is very state-specific. For example, California does require an employer to pay their tipped employees minimum wage, and does not include the estimated tip. Especially in Federal law, you are going to be required to make up the difference of the minimum wage if the employee does not receive that, and you are accounting for tips as well.

What is the 'Employee Retirement Income Security Act'?

The Employee Retirement Income Security Act, otherwise known as ERISA, regulates employee pension plans.

Are managers entitled to overtime pay?

Whether managers are entitled to overtime pay depends on a variety of factors. The title manager alone is not going to determine whether or not an employer is going to be required to pay a manager overtime. What it's going to depend upon is whether or not the position is an exempt position or a non-exempt position. Non-exempt positions must be paid overtime, and exempt positions fall into one of three categories: executive, administrative, and professional. An attorney, for example, falls under the professional exemption, and we are not paid overtime. We can work all the hours we want, and we are just paid our salary.

Are employees entitled to be paid for on-call time, even if they don't have to stay at work?

Whether or not employees are entitled to pay for on call work really depends on whether or not they are subject to the employer's control during that period of time. The question is, how restricted is their activity? For example, if you have an employee who has a pager and is not on the company property, and can go about their activities and their daily plans but needs to make themselves available to the employer, chances are that it is not going to be deemed working time. In that instance, an employer will probably not have to pay an employer for their on-call time.

What are the guidelines regarding flexible schedules for employees?

You don't necessarily need to allow every employee to work on a flexible schedule if you allow one employee to do so. What you want to be careful about, is that you equally apply your benefits and your restrictions on employees, and that you do not provide one employee with the benefit of a flexible schedule and not another.

Does an employer have to offer employees benefits, such as vacations, health plans, pension, etc?

Under federal law and under California law, employers do have to provide employees with benefits such as pension and health plans or vacation time. It might vary from state to state, you may want to inquire with your local council to determine whether or not your are required in a particular state to do so. Caveat is if you are going to provide these benefits, you do need to follow the laws regarding providing the benefits, and there are specific regulations if you choose to provide them.

Are all companies required to have a pension plan?

Not all companies are required to have a pension plan, but if you do choose to do one, then they are regulated and you do have to follow the laws of your state, as well as federal laws.