by Kara E. Shea
Independent contractors, by definition, are self-employed. Because they aren’t employees, they aren’t covered by employment, labor, and related tax laws. As a result, some employers may be tempted to reclassify employees as independent contractors to avoid taxes, benefits, record-keeping requirements, overtime, and other expenses.

The U.S. Department of Labor’s (DOL) Wage and Hour Division’s (WHD) recent enforcement efforts represent a flawed approach that assumes incorrectly that employers are deliberately violating the law, according to David Fortney, cofounder of Fortney & Scott, LLC, in Washington, D.C., who testified before a U. S. House of Representatives subcommittee November 3.
Fortney, editor of [...]

by Boyd A. Byers
The thirst for revenge is among the strongest of human emotions. In fact, the innate desire to “get even” has driven much of history. But acting on vindictive feelings can have dire consequences — particularly in the world of employment law.

by Gary S. Fealk
Businesses often find it advantageous to hire independent contractors to perform a variety of duties in place of employees. Using independent contractors can reduce expenses for payroll taxes and benefits, avoid the impact of laws like the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) and the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA), and arguably [...]

Unlimited vacation is a growing trend that may be a good way for organizations to provide an incentive or bonus to employees to reward them for good work without increasing salaries or providing bonuses or other kinds of incentives. The concept of unlimited vacation is very simple: Employees can take vacation, personal, and sick time [...]

by Vaughn Burkholder and Tara Eberline

What do the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL), the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), and Congress have in common? Sound like a setup for a bad joke? The punch line is that each of those federal entities has announced its intention to focus on employers’ misclassification of employees as independent contractors. [...]

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 a [...]

by Gary S. Fealk
Under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), certain employees may be exempt from overtime pay.

by Leslie Stout-Tabackman and David Fortney, Fortney & Scott, LLC
This article arises from comments on the “Bridge to Justice” program by U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) Solicitor Patricia Smith during the panel discussion “The Obama Administration’s Enforcement of the Wage and Hour Laws” at the Practicing Law Institute’s (PLI) “Managing Wage & Hour Risks 2011″ [...]

Almost every employer has policies. The question is, where do they come from? They come from HR, right? But where does HR get them? They must get them from somewhere. And what if you don’t have an HR department? Then someone must have to — gasp — write them. We’re talking about your employment policies [...]