As a courtesy to employers and employment lawyers, The Employment Law Chronicle provides links to the text of key Federal, Virginia, and District of Columbia labor and employment laws published on government sites.
In addition to setting restrictions on the amount of employee pay that can be garnished, the Virginia Wage Garnishment Law makes it illegal to fire an employee for being subjected to garnishment for a single debt.
As a courtesy to employers and employment lawyers, The Employment Law Chronicle provides links to the text of key Federal, Virginia, and District of Columbia labor and employment laws published on government sites.
The Virginia Wage Payment Law identifies requirements and restrictions on employee pay. Some of the topics covered by the wage payment law include the timing of employee pay periods; medium of wage payment; legality of wage withholdings, deductions or forfeitures; requirements for earnings statements; and payment of wages upon termination.
As a courtesy to employers and employment lawyers, The Employment Law Chronicle provides links to the text of key Federal, Virginia, and District of Columbia labor and employment laws published on government sites.
Like the federal Equal Pay Act and Title VII, the Virginia Equal Pay Act prohibits employers from paying males and females in the same establishment different wages for substantially similar work. As set forth below, the Virginia Equal Pay Act covers the limited group of employers who are not covered by the federal Equal Pay Act.
Continue reading "Virginia Equal Pay Act (VA Code § 40.1-28.6)" »
Employers should take steps now to ensure that workers who are classified as independent contractors are, in fact, independent contractors and not employees. While some misclassifications are inadvertent, as reported today in this New York Times article, the Obama Administration and several states are cracking down on misclassifications of employees as independent contractors.
Employers in Virginia or the District of Columbia who have questions about how to determine whether a worker is an employee or an independent contractor are welcome to call Searcy Law Offices, LLC at 703-644-4122 for a consultation.
Effective today, July 24, 2009, the federal minimum wage is $7.25. Here is a link to the Federal Minimum Wage Poster.
As a courtesy to District of Columbia employers and employment lawyers, The Employment Law Chronicle provides summaries and links (where available) to key District of Columbia labor and employment laws.
The D.C. Wage Payment and Wage Collection Law applies to most non-government employers in the District of Columbia. In general, it requires employers to pay employees wages earned at least twice a month on regular paydays and to make timely payment of wages upon an employee's departure. The wage law does not apply to executives, administrative, or professional employees.
Here are answers to some frequently asked questions about payment of wages in the District of Columbia:
The House of Representatives is considering two employment discrimination bills today: The Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act, H.R. 11; and The Paycheck Fairness Act, H.R. 12. Both bills are designed to strengthen equal pay laws.
Here is a good summary from the AP.
The Department of Labor (DOL) has obtained a $1.87 million settlement with temp agency 888 Consulting Group Inc. to recover overtime back pay for 973 employees who had been misclassified as "exempt" from the overtime provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA).
Continue reading "Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA): Very Costly FLSA Misclassifications" »
As a courtesy to employment lawyers and employers, The Employment Law Chronicle provides links to the text of key Federal, Virginia, and District of Columbia labor and employment laws published on government sites.
The Fair Labor Standards Act sets minimum wage, overtime pay, recordkeeping, and child labor standards. It applies to most employers in the private sector, Federal, State, and local governments. The U.S. Department of Labor provides helpful material on the FLSA.
Minimum Wage: While some workers may qualify for a FLSA exemption, nonexempt workers are entitled to a minimum wage as follows: $5.85 per hour effective July 24, 2007; $6.55 per hour effective July 24, 2008; and $7.25 effective July 24, 2009.
Overtime: After 40 hours of work in a workweek, covered employers must pay nonexempt workers overtime in the amount of at least 1 1/2 times their regular rate of pay.
According to the Richmond Times-Dispatch, approximately 230 workers have filed a federal lawsuit against Smithfield Foods Inc. under the Fair Labor Standards Act alleging that the Company failed to pay 30-45 minutes of daily overtime for donning and doffing of protective gear, walking to and from the production line, and working after the day officially ends.
