Getting overtime pay calculation wrong can be damaging for the employer

A thorough grasp of the subtleties of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) continues to elude many employers, even though this Act has been around for a long time. The frequent changes that keep happening to the many regulations of the FLSA from time to time are one of the major reasons for this. These changes have employers, employees and attorneys scrambling for the meaning, interpretation and application of the new regulations, resulting in a huge load of extremely expensive FLSA lawsuits under this legislation.

Most of these legal disputes arise because attorneys make impermissible deductions from wages. They don’t count all the hours an employee has worked in determining overtime due, or they get their calculations plain wrong.  An idea of the magnitude of the effects of this misunderstanding of the provisions of the FLSA by employers can be had from the fact that The Department of Labor (DoL), which is already operating on a budget of $311 billion; requested an additional $104.5 billion for its 2015 budget for discretionary and mandatory programs. All these point to a new vigor and zest in this department in cracking down on false calculations and other improprieties.

Learn the nuances of overtime pay

In order to clear the misunderstandings anyone may have about the various elements of this law; GlobalCompliancePanel, a well-known provider of professional trainings for the areas of regulatory compliance, will be organizing a two-day seminar. Susan Fahey Desmond, a principal with Jackson Lewis PC, who has been representing management in all areas of labor and employment law for over 30 years, will be the Director of this seminar. To enroll for this highly valuable learning session, please log on to http://www.globalcompliancepanel.com/control/globalseminars/~product_id=900679SEMINAR?calculating-overtime-correctly-SFO-CA.

At this seminar, Susan will go through all of the nuances of the FLSA and will cover the most frequent mistakes employers make repeatedly. She will explain the employer/employee relationship under the FLSA in detail, and will offer a description of areas such as the exemptions and what time is compensable. Another important learning of this seminar is about ways by which employers can decrease their overtime liability.

Susan will cover the following areas at this seminar:

o   Understanding the employer/employee relationship under the FLSA

o   Analysis of independent contractor v. employee

o   Volunteers and trainees

o   Exemptions - managerial, administrative, professional, outside sales, specific industry exemptions, the Motor Carrier Act

o   What is Working Time with discussion of the Portal to Portal Act

o   New Requirements for Breastfeeding Mothers

o   Calculating Overtime Correctly - determining the workweek and calculations.

o   Using approved ways to reduce overtime liability - fluctuating workweek, Belo Plans, Union Employee Plans, compensatory time

o   Minimum Wage Requirements and handling of deductions like garnishments, employee theft, company equipment, etc.

o   Child Labor laws - when they can work, what they can do, what breaks are required

o   Recordkeeping Requirements