Author: Rebecca S. Webber

The news is blaring one warning and seminar and webinar after another on the new federal wage and hour regulations, which recently went into place. They will be enforced as of December 1, 2016. But the reality is that planning and re-thinking the test for exempt employees (the ones who don’t get overtime, that is)Read More

Thinking of making some late spring or summer hires? Hirer beware: the current Form I-9 expires on 3/31/2016. The Department of Homeland Security will be issuing the most current version on or before that date (just in time for April Fool’s Day!). Employers can visit https://www.uscis.gov/i-9 to get the most updated information on the new I-9. Until furtherRead More

Maine’s minimum wage is $7.50 per hour. The federal minimum wage is lower; Maine employers must pay whatever is the higher rate. A citizen-initiated referendum that would increase the state’s minimum wage to $12 per hour by 2020 will be on the ballot this fall. Legislation was recently proposed that would increase the minimum wageRead More

Can I deduct wages from a salaried employee who is on FMLA? Can I avoid overtime if someone is working two different jobs for our company? If not, how do I calculate that? Do I have to pay for travel-to-the-job-site time if the job will involve overnight time? When is the DOL going to doubleRead More

Wage and hour issues are not something that your payroll company is handling – those folks handle your payroll and the information you provide.  Wages owed is a much more complicated issue, including whether time deducted by the payroll folks for breaks was in fact worked and therefore cannot be deducted to whether an exemptRead More

According to both federal and state wage and hour laws, employees must be paid for their lunch breaks IF they are not completely relieved from duty. As explained by the federal Department of Labor, an employee is not relieved if he is required to perform any duties, whether active or inactive, while eating. For example,Read More

It is past the middle of January, the snow has finally come, and you’re loving the skiing, sledding, and ice fishing.  Then, like the rude awakening of a January thaw, you look at your company’s I-9 form and gasp, this pain in my rear form expires in March 2016!  This is what you are lookingRead More

It was a strange coincidence – I had just read that the federal EEOC filed a lawsuit against Joy Underground Mining, LLC, for violating federal law when it required applicants to provide family medical history as part of the hiring process.  According to the EEOC’s suit, after making conditional employment offers, Joy Mining required applicantsRead More

November’s Central Maine Human Resources Association program will tackle the issue of mental illness and addiction in the workplace. The program takes place on November 17, 2015, from 7:45 a.m. to 9:30 a.m. at the Ramada Inn in Lewiston. This program features the Executive Director of the Maine Human Rights Commission, Amy Sneirson, and membersRead More

No union?  Your business still needs to pay attention to the National Labor Relations Act.  The issue getting a lot of attention is facebook messages and what can be done about them when employees slam their bosses or employer’s business but there are other issues too, and those apply to non-unionized workplaces as well asRead More