Tag: Kara Shea

Job Applicants with Criminal Charges, Convictions: What Can Employers Do?

Employers often use job applications to seek information about candidates’ conviction records. Criminal background checks are often performed before hiring an employee. The reasons for seeking the information seem obvious, but unfortunately, how the information can be used is not.

FLSA Exemptions: Avoiding Legal Pitfalls

Yesterday we heard advice from expert Kara Shea concerning Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) exemptions and audits. Today, more from Shea on how to stay out of legal hot water when it comes to these tricky matters.

An FLSA Q&A: How Do You Conduct a Compliance Audit?

By Holly Jones, JD One of the hottest topics in labor law lately is the new changes coming to overtime exemption rules under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). The changes will be massive for some organizations, and many will be conducting audits to ensure compliance—but will they be auditing correctly? Here with a Q&A […]

Wage/Hour: Good News Ahead (for the Attorneys, That Is)

There’s good news (sort of) and bad news for employers in the outlook for 2012, say attorneys from the Employers Counsel Network. They covered new developments in wage/hour compliance during a presentation at BLR’s Advanced Employment Issues Symposium, held recently in Nashville and Las Vegas.

Random Thoughts on FLSA Administrative Exemption

by Kara E. Shea I’ve been working with several clients lately on Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) compliance issues — specifically, on exemption classification audits. During an audit, I review all the jobs an employer has deemed exempt from overtime under the FLSA and try to decide whether the positions have been correctly classified. It’s […]

Individual Liability for Wage and Hour Claims

by Kara E. Shea I recently participated in hosting a Wage and Hour Virtual Summit webinar. Wage and hour compliance — overtime, work-time issues, exempt status — is always a lively topic and typically results in lots of questions and feedback. This time around, most of the feedback surrounded remarks I made about individual liability […]

Eject Him! Attorneys Say JetBlue Shouldn’t Let Employee’s Tirade Slide

By now, most people have probably heard about Steven Slater, the JetBlue flight attendant who became America’s newest so-called “folk hero” after he told off a difficult passenger, grabbed a beer, and exited a plane via the inflatable emergency chute. We decided to ask several employment law attorneys — all members of the Employers Counsel […]

Proceed with Caution When Rehiring Laid-Off Employees

by Kara Shea One hopeful sign that our economy is perhaps inching back in the right direction is the number of calls I’ve received in recent weeks from clients inquiring about hiring back employees let go during a reduction in force (RIF). Some employers have told me they’re contemplating bringing back certain positions, or even […]

Correctly Classifying IT Employees As Exempt or Non-exempt

by Kara Shea I’m often asked to give advice about whether employees are exempt from the overtime requirements of federal law. I have to say that it’s a pretty easy call about 70 percent of the time. But then there’s that troubling 30 percent of jobs that give my clients (and, truth be told, yours […]

Reducing the Risk of Wrongful Discharge Claims During Layoffs

by Kara Shea In a previous article, I discussed the risks of some of the methods employers use to forestall layoffs (such as adjusting hours and compensation). This week, I’m going to assume the worst has happened and talk you through a layoff scenario, with the goal of reducing the risk of wrongful discharge claims […]