Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) Training for Supervisors

Transcription

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2 Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) Training for Supervisors

3 Agenda Topics covered today: Overview of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) Using Independent Contractors The importance of written job descriptions Managing nonexempt employees entitlement to overtime Compensable and non-compensable time for nonexempt employees Keeping good records

4 Overview of FLSA The Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) establishes minimum wage, overtime pay, recordkeeping, and child labor standards affecting full-time and part-time workers in the private sector and in Federal, State, and local governments. Under the final rule to update the FLSA regulations, a positon must satisfy two criteria to qualify as exempt from overtime: Salary test Duties test

5 Overview of FLSA (cont.) 1. Salary Test: Paid $913/week ($47,476 per year) Paid on a salary basis Pay not subject to reductions because of quantity or quality of work 2. Duties Test: Relative importance of exempt duties Amount of time performing exempt duties (but not necessarily majority of time) Relative freedom from supervision Wages paid to other employees for non-exempt work

6 Overview of FLSA (cont.) Common exemptions from FLSA Executive Exemption Administrative Exemption Professional Exemption Computer Professional Exemption Highly Compensated Employee Exemption

7 Overview of FLSA (cont.) FLSA applies to non-exempt employees: Aides, clerical, custodians, food service, transportation, maintenance, police, technology repair staff Substitute employees (other than sub teachers)

8 Independent Contractor Employee W2 Independent Contractor 1099 Does not control how, when, or where he/she works Has no personal risk and is covered by Worker s Compensation Day-to-day work is important to the business Uses company resources Controls every aspect of how, when and where the work will be done Assumes all risk and is not covered by anyone Not important for daily company workflow Use own resources to get job completed

9 Independent Contractor (cont.) Most workers are employees under the FLSA (July 15, 2015 DOL Administrator s Interpretation) The FLSA will inquire whether the worker is economically dependent on the employer or truly in business for him or herself Economic realties test, not common law control test Independent Contractor definition under s (8), Wis. Stats

10 Independent Contractor (Cont.)

11 Independent Contractor (Cont.) Consequences of Misclassification Income tax liability for monies that should have been withheld Employer s contributions of Social Security and Medicare taxes Potential overtime pay and /or other wage claim liability Workers Compensation Insurance premiums (and potential liability for workplace injuries) Potential entitlement to benefits under applicable employee benefit plans

12 Job Descriptions

13 Job Descriptions (cont.) Identification Job title Reporting relationships Department Location Date of analysis General Summary Describes the job s distinguishing responsibilities and components Essential Functions and Duties List major tasks, duties and responsibilities Job Specifications Knowledge, skills, and abilities Education and experience Physical requirements Disclaimer Signature of approvals

14 Job Descriptions Wage and Hour Benefits Enables efficient auditing of exempt status Value in litigation Proof of primary duties and responsibilities Admission by employee Evidence of good faith

15 Job Descriptions (cont.) In Addition to Wage and Hour Benefit: Tool for employee selection, training, and evaluation Pay equity/compensation analysis ADA accommodation process FMLA compliance

16 Hours Worked

17 Hours Worked Hours worked generally include all the time an employee is: Required to be on duty Required to be on the employer s premises, or any other prescribed place of work (even at home!) FLSA does not define work Defines employ as suffer or permitted to work Includes anytime an employer requires or allows an employee to work Employer may not sit back and enjoy the benefits of an employee that works without entering time.

18 Hours Worked (cont.) Attendance at meetings, lectures, training programs and similar activities if the activity is related to the employee s job Including some of the travel time Working during a non-paid lunch break The entire meal period is paid if the employee is not completely relieved from all duties Working at home if the supervisor knows or has reason to know that work is being performed Pre-shift or post-shift work, such as fueling a bus, cleaning tools, delivering/picking up materials or equipment On-call or stand-by hours if he/she cannot use the time effectively for his/her own purposes

19 Overtime Pay 1.5 times the regular rate for all hours worked in a workweek in excess of 40 hours: Workweek is defined at KUSD as Monday through Friday Each workweek stands alone may not average multiple workweeks The district may compensate an employee with 1.5 times of pay (money), or 1.5 times of compensatory time (comp time) An agreement with the employee must be made prior to work being performed

20 Overtime Pay (cont.) Hours not subject to overtime: Paid holidays Paid sick time Compensatory time Jury duty

21 Overtime Pay (cont.) A non-exempt employee works 32 hours and is paid 8 hours sick leave for a total of 40 hours. Q. If he/she works an additional 8 hours on Saturday, are those 8 hours paid at overtime? A. No, the employee only has 40 working hours. The additional 8 hours are paid at their regular hourly rate.

22 Compensatory Time School districts may offer comp time if: Provided at 1.5 hours for all hours worked in excess of 40 in a workweek Done pursuant to a prior agreement Accrued time does not exceed max. (8 hours)

23 Comp Time Accrual & Use Recommended Best Practices: Should be tracked weekly on one document Should be tracked centrally and communicated to employees (for example: on a pay stub) Should use e-timesheet to deduct comp time used Balances at separation must be paid at current regular rate, or average of last 3 years, whichever is higher

24 Child Labor

25 Student Workers Students are often hired to perform specialized tasks such as: Food Service workers Theatre Arts productions: stage hands Assist with athletic events Tutoring All Child Labor rules must be adhered to: Violations may result in a $10,000 fine per occurrence

26 Minimum Age Standards 18 and above No limitations Minimum for occupations declared hazardous by the DOL 16 and 17 year-olds General minimum for employment Limited to non-hazardous occupations No limitations on hours or time

27 Minimum Age Standards (Cont.) 14 and 15 year-olds Minimum age for employment in specified occupations Limited to work outside of school hours Total work hours limited per day and per week Only non-hazardous and non-manufacturing jobs

28 Minimum Age Standards (Cont.) 14 and 15 year-olds Permissible work hours: 3 hours on a school day 18 hours in a school week 8 hours on a non-school day 40 hours in a non-school week Between 7 am and 7 pm, except from June 1 through Labor Day, when nighttime work hours are extended to 9 pm Q. Is a 15 year old student allowed to work until 10 pm at a Volleyball game held on May 15th? A. No, a 15 year old may not work after 9 pm at any time.

29 Minimum Age Standards (Cont.) Under 14 years of age Work only in jobs that are exempt from or are not covered by FLSA Ages 14 to 15 are excluded from the following occupations / tasks Manufacturing Loading or unloading Climbing ladders or other similar equipment Driving a motor vehicle

30 Recordkeeping

31 Recordkeeping Maintaining good records is essential to proper compliance An accurate record of: The hours worked for each day The total hours worked each workweek All non-exempt employees must record their start and stop times for everyday Paper sign-in sheets or clocks are acceptable

32 Recordkeeping (cont.) FLSA Audit All it takes is 1 employee to file a complaint or to be randomly selected DOL Wage and Hour Division will investigate Process could last several months Outcome will include: No findings Make additional pay disbursements as directed by DOL

33 Recordkeeping (cont.) Penalties Employers who willfully or repeatedly violate the minimum wage or overtime pay requirements are subject to a penalty of up to $1,000 for each violation Employers who violate the child labor provisions are subject to a penalty of up to $10,000 for each young worker who was employed in violation Willful violations of the FLSA may result in criminal prosecution and fines

34 Questions

35 References Executive: Administrative: Professional: Computer Professional

36 Additional Information This training presentation is for general use to train school district personnel on critical FLSA issues This presentation was developed from valuable information on the Department of Labor website