Vision Payroll

The US Department of Labor (DOL) recently issued Administrator signed Opinion Letter FLSA2008-12. Although Opinion Letters only apply to the exact set of facts and circumstances presented in each case, they are a valuable aid in understanding current interpretations of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). This Opinion Letter discusses whether bonuses must be included in the regular rate of pay for overtime calculations under the FLSA.

On December 22, 2005, a city paid a bonus to generally all full-time emergency communications operators “in recognition of the high stress level of the employees’ duties.” The city had not previously promised this bonus, but the union representing the employees needed to approve it before payment. Since discretionary bonuses may be excluded from the regular rate of pay for overtime rate calculations, the Opinion Letter must resolve if the bonus be discretionary.

The city was concerned that even though it considered the bonus discretionary, it might be construed as non-discretionary since the city reached a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the union representing the workers on December 14, 2005 and did not pay the bonus until December 22, 2005. The DOL concluded that the bonuses were not issued “pursuant to the MOU, but rather used the agreement to formalize a decision previously made.” Therefore the bonus was considered discretionary and “excludable from the regular rate of pay under §7(e)(3).”

State laws may provide rules that are more beneficial to the employee and must be followed. Contact Vision Payroll if you have questions about this Opinion Letter.

According to the US Department of Labor, in the week ending February 7, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 623,000, a decrease of 8,000 from the previous week’s revised figure of 631,000. The 4-week moving average was 607,500, an increase of 24,000 from the previous week’s revised average of 583,500.

The US Department of Labor recently issued Administrator signed Opinion Letter FLSA2008-11. Although Opinion Letters only apply to the exact set of facts and circumstances presented in each case, they are a valuable aid in understanding current interpretations of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). This Opinion Letter discusses whether Assistant Athletic Instructors (AAIs) qualify as teachers exempt under the FLSA.

The facts are that AAIs “teach proper skills and skill development to student-athletes”; a bachelor’s degree is required although a master’s degree or equivalent experience is preferred. The AAIs spend more than half their time teaching “physical health, team concepts, and safety.” Although they work under a head coach, they also exercise considerable discretion and independent judgment.

The AAIs spend time on activities that don’t include teaching activities, “such as developing effective recruitment strategies, recruiting and following up on prospective students, researching and targeting high schools and athletic camps as sources for potential student-athletes, and visiting high schools and athletic camps to conduct student interviews.” Since they spend more than half their time on teaching activities, however, the non-teaching time is not determinative. Furthermore, the institutions of higher learning where the AAIs work would presumably qualify as educational establishments. Therefore, the AAIs would qualify as exempt from minimum wage and overtime requirements under the FLSA.

State laws may provide rules that are more beneficial to the employee and must be followed. Contact Vision Payroll if you have questions about this Opinion Letter.

The US Department of Labor recently issued Administrator signed Opinion Letter FLSA2008-10. Although Opinion Letters only apply to the exact set of facts and circumstances presented in each case, they are a valuable aid in understanding current interpretations of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). This Opinion Letter discusses whether employers must pay for replacement uniforms for employees who repeatedly damage uniforms in non-work-related activities.

A tipped employee who worked in a dining facility received $2.13 in cash wages and the employer claimed a tip credit so that the employee received at least the federal minimum wage. The employer requires the employee to wear a uniform that is provided by the employer at no cost to the employee. The employer provides an adequate number of uniforms to employees “relative to the nature of their work assignments and job duties.” The uniform does not require any special laundering.

One employee damaged several uniforms while riding a skateboard on days that he wasn’t working. The employer wanted to know if it must continuously replace such uniforms at no cost to the employee or if the employee could be charged for the uniforms. Employers may not charge directly or indirectly for uniforms required as a condition of employment if the charge would reduce the employee’s wages below the required minimum wage or overtime pay. The employer must also replace uniforms damaged at work using the same guidelines. Employers may charge, however, both for additional uniforms voluntarily purchased by any employee beyond the normal allotment and for uniforms damaged by the employee during personal use without violating the FLSA.

State laws may provide rules that are more beneficial to the employee and must be followed. Contact Vision Payroll if you have questions about this Opinion Letter.

Nonfarm payroll employment fell sharply in January (-598,000) and the unemployment rate rose from 7.2% to 7.6%, the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the US Department of Labor reported recently. Payroll employment has declined by 3.6 million since the start of the recession in December 2007; about one-half of this decline occurred in the past 3 months. In January, job losses were large and widespread across nearly all major industry sectors.

Both the number of unemployed persons (11.6 million) and the unemployment rate (7.6%) rose in January. Over the past 12 months, the number of unemployed persons has increased by 4.1 million and the unemployment rate has risen by 2.7 percentage points.

The unemployment rate continued to trend upward in January for adult men (7.6%), adult women (6.2%), whites (6.9%), blacks (12.6%), and Hispanics (9.7%). The jobless rate for teenagers was unchanged at 20.8%. The unemployment rate for Asians was 6.2% in January, not seasonally adjusted.

Among the unemployed, the number of job losers and persons who completed temporary jobs increased to 7.0 million in January. This measure has grown by 3.2 million during the last 12 months.

The number of long-term unemployed (those jobless for 27 weeks or more) was little changed at 2.6 million in January. Over the past 12 months, the number of long-term unemployed was up by 1.3 million. The number of persons unemployed less than 5 weeks rose to 3.7 million in January.

According to the US Department of Labor, in the week ending January 31, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 626,000, an increase of 35,000 from the previous week’s revised figure of 591,000. The 4-week moving average was 582,250, an increase of 39,000 from the previous week’s revised average of 543,250.

According to the US Department of Labor, in the week ending January 24, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 588,000, an increase of 3,000 from the previous week’s revised figure of 585,000. The 4-week moving average was 542,500, an increase of 24,250 from the previous week’s revised average of 518,250.

According to the US Department of Labor, in the week ending January 17, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 589,000, an increase of 62,000 from the previous week’s revised figure of 527,000. The 4-week moving average was 519,250, unchanged from the previous week’s revised average of 519,250.

According to the US Department of Labor, in the week ending January 10, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 524,000, an increase of 54,000 from the previous week’s revised figure of 470,000. The 4-week moving average was 518,500, a decrease of 8,000 from the previous week’s revised average of 526,500.

Nonfarm payroll employment declined sharply in December, and the unemployment rate rose from 6.8% to 7.2%, the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the US Department of Labor reported recently. Payroll employment fell by 524,000 over the month and by 1.9 million over the last 4 months of 2008. In December, job losses were large and widespread across most major industry sectors.

In December, the number of unemployed persons increased by 632,000 to 11.1 million and the unemployment rate rose to 7.2%. Since the start of the recession in December 2007, the number of unemployed persons has grown by 3.6 million, and the unemployment rate has risen by 2.3 percentage points.

The unemployment rates for adult men (7.2%), adult women (5.9%), and whites (6.6%) increased in December. The jobless rates for teenagers (20.8%), blacks (11.9%), and Hispanics (9.2%) were little changed over the month. The unemployment rate for Asians was 5.1% in December, not seasonally adjusted.

Among the unemployed, the number of job losers and persons who completed temporary jobs rose by 315,000 to 6.5 million in December. Over the past 12 months, the size of this group has increased by 2.7 million.

The number of long-term unemployed (those jobless for 27 weeks or more) rose to 2.6 million in December and was up by 1.3 million in 2008.