Blog Posts
Labor and Employment
OK at Work: Effective Strategies for Utilizing Your Attorney
On this week's OK at Work, Sarah Sawyer and Russell Berger discuss strategies for leveraging your attorney to help your business mitigate legal risk. Listen to learn more.
September 10, 2024
Labor and Employment
OK at Work: How Will the Newest Supreme Court Decision Affect Your Business?
On this week's OK at Work, Sarah Sawyer and Russell Berger discuss the Supreme Court's recent decision eliminating the substantial deference that federal courts previously gave to the decisions of administrative agencies and what it could mean for business owners, executives, and in-house counsel. Listen to learn more.
July 30, 2024
One Minute of Overtime
Regular Rate
Welcome to One Minute of Overtime, where I will share insights on Labor and Employment Law topics, mostly related to minimum wage and overtime compliance issues. Compliance in this area of law is nuanced and technical, so it is critical for employers to audit and adjust their practices to remain compliant, so stop by to stay up-to-date and in-the-know. The regular rate does not include: pay for expenses incurred on the employer's behalf; premium payments for overtime work or the true premiums paid for work on Saturdays, Sundays, and holidays; discretionary bonuses; gifts and payments in the nature of gifts on special occasions; and payments for occasional periods when no work is performed due to vacation, holidays, or illness.
June 26, 2024
One Minute of Overtime
Overtime Pay
Welcome to One Minute of Overtime, where I will share insights on Labor and Employment Law topics, mostly related to minimum wage and overtime compliance issues. Compliance in this area of law is nuanced and technical, so it is critical for employers to audit and adjust their practices to remain compliant, so stop by to stay up-to-date and in-the-know. Overtime pay is calculated based on the regular rate. The regular rate is based on total compensation paid for the week divided by the total hours worked. Adjustments may be required, and certain payments can be excluded.
May 29, 2024
One Minute of Overtime
Overtime Exemptions
Welcome to One Minute of Overtime, where I will share insights on Labor and Employment Law topics, mostly related to minimum wage and overtime compliance issues. Compliance in this area of law is nuanced and technical, so it is critical for employers to audit and adjust their practices to remain compliant, so stop by to stay up-to-date and in-the-know. Many exemptions to overtime requirements are based not only on the job duties of the employee, but also require satisfaction of the salary basis test. Currently, the salary basis is $684 per week regardless of the number of hours worked.
April 24, 2024
One Minute of Overtime
Legal Test
Welcome to One Minute of Overtime, where I will share insights on Labor and Employment Law topics, mostly related to minimum wage and overtime compliance issues. Compliance in this area of law is nuanced and technical, so it is critical for employers to audit and adjust their practices to remain compliant, so stop by to stay up-to-date and in-the-know. Whether a worker is an employee, or an independent contractor is not a choice the employer gets to make. Instead, it is a legal conclusion reached based on the application of a legal test. In Maryland, the test focuses on the economic realities of the engagement.
March 20, 2024
One Minute of Overtime
Primary Duty
Welcome to One Minute of Overtime, where I will share insights on Labor and Employment Law topics, mostly related to minimum wage and overtime compliance issues. Compliance in this area of law is nuanced and technical, so it is critical for employers to audit and adjust their practices to remain compliant, so stop by to stay up-to-date and in-the-know. Most exemptions under the FLSA focus on the employee’s primary duty. This means that even where an employee may do a variety of work, the exemption analysis will focus on the principal, main, major or most important duty that the employee performs.
February 28, 2024
One Minute of Overtime
Exempt Employees
Welcome to One Minute of Overtime, where I will share insights on Labor and Employment Law topics, mostly related to minimum wage and overtime compliance issues. Compliance in this area of law is nuanced and technical, so it is critical for employers to audit and adjust their practices to remain compliant, so stop by to stay up-to-date and in-the-know. A frequent mistake occurs when employers misclassify employees as exempt because it is easier to pay a salary than deal with overtime and recordkeeping. By failing to track hours following misclassification an employer only increases its exposure.
January 17, 2024
One Minute of Overtime
Bona Fide Meal Break
Welcome to One Minute of Overtime, where I will share insights on Labor and Employment Law topics, mostly related to minimum wage and overtime compliance issues. Compliance in this area of law is nuanced and technical, so it is critical for employers to audit and adjust their practices to remain compliant, so stop by to stay up-to-date and in-the-know. An employer does not have to pay an employee for time spent on a bona fide meal break. However, to qualify as a bona fide meal break, the employee must be completely relieved from duty and should not be interrupted for thirty minutes or more.
November 15, 2023
One Minute of Overtime
Engaging Employees
Welcome to One Minute of Overtime, where I will share insights on Labor and Employment Law topics, mostly related to minimum wage and overtime compliance issues. Compliance in this area of law is nuanced and technical, so it is critical for employers to audit and adjust their practices to remain compliant, so stop by to stay up-to-date and in-the-know. There is a difference between employees “engaged to wait” and “waiting to be engaged.” Employees engaged to wait, such as a firefighter playing checkers while waiting for a call, should be paid for their time. Employees waiting to be engaged, such as a helpdesk worker who is on call, need not be paid until the employee actually gets a call.
October 26, 2023
One Minute of Overtime
Time Tracking
Welcome to One Minute of Overtime, where I will share insights on Labor and Employment Law topics, mostly related to minimum wage and overtime compliance issues. Compliance in this area of law is nuanced and technical, so it is critical for employers to audit and adjust their practices to remain compliant, so stop by to stay up-to-date and in-the-know. Since proper wage payment is based on hours worked, it is critical for employers to ensure accurate time tracking. While handwritten timesheets are acceptable, it is preferable to use an electronic system or time cards. Whatever system is used, employers should make sure they understand the system's rounding convention.
September 27, 2023
One Minute of Overtime
Permitted Overtime
Welcome to One Minute of Overtime, where I will share insights on Labor and Employment Law topics, mostly related to minimum wage and overtime compliance issues. Compliance in this area of law is nuanced and technical, so it is critical for employers to audit and adjust their practices to remain compliant, so stop by to stay up-to-date and in-the-know. Employers must pay employees for all hours the employee is suffered or permitted to work. This means that employers are obligated to pay employees for work even if it was not requested. Even though an employer must pay, the employee can still be disciplined.
August 16, 2023
One Minute of Overtime
Highly-Compensated Worker Exemption
Welcome to One Minute of Overtime, where I will share insights on Labor and Employment Law topics, mostly related to minimum wage and overtime compliance issues. Compliance in this area of law is nuanced and technical, so it is critical for employers to audit and adjust their practices to remain compliant, so stop by to stay up-to-date and in-the-know. An employee qualifies for this exemption if they earn total annual compensation of $107,432 or more (including satisfying the salary basis or fee test), the employee’s primary duty includes performing office or non-manual work, and the employee customarily and regularly performs at least one of the exempt duties or responsibilities of an exempt executive, administrative, or professional employee.
July 26, 2023
One Minute of Overtime
Home Healthcare
Welcome to One Minute of Overtime, where I will share insights on Labor and Employment Law topics, mostly related to minimum wage and overtime compliance issues. Compliance in this area of law is nuanced and technical, so it is critical for employers to audit and adjust their practices to remain compliant, so stop by to stay up-to-date and in-the-know. With limited exception for companionship services, most individuals hired to provide home health care services are likely to be considered non-exempt employees. Home health care providers should take care to ensure proper classification of their workforce.
June 21, 2023
One Minute of Overtime
Computer-Related Exemptions
Welcome to One Minute of Overtime, where I will share insights on Labor and Employment Law topics, mostly related to minimum wage and overtime compliance issues. Compliance in this area of law is nuanced and technical, so it is critical for employers to audit and adjust their practices to remain compliant, so stop by to stay up-to-date and in-the-know. Computer systems analysts, computer programmers, software engineers, and other similarly skilled workers in the computer field may qualify for an FLSA exemption when both compensation requirements and job duties requirements are met. In contrast, IT help desk employees are generally non-exempt.
May 17, 2023
One Minute of Overtime
Fluctuating Workweek
Welcome to One Minute of Overtime, where I will share insights on Labor and Employment Law topics, mostly related to minimum wage and overtime compliance issues. Compliance in this area of law is nuanced and technical, so it is critical for employers to audit and adjust their practices to remain compliant, so stop by to stay up-to-date and in-the-know. Under the fluctuating workweek method, an employee receives a fixed weekly salary and overtime pay is based on the average hourly rate in a specific workweek. The average hourly rate will change from week to week depending on how many hours the employee actually worked and must always exceed the minimum wage. While this keeps the overtime premium to 0.5 times the hourly rate, it also prevents the employee from reducing pay below the agreed upon threshold when the employee works less than 40 hours in a week.
April 19, 2023
One Minute of Overtime
Executive Exemption
Welcome to One Minute of Overtime, where I will share insights on Labor and Employment Law topics, mostly related to minimum wage and overtime compliance issues. Compliance in this area of law is nuanced and technical, so it is critical for employers to audit and adjust their practices to remain compliant, so stop by to stay up-to-date and in-the-know. An employee is exempt pursuant to the administrative exemption, and not subject to the minimum wage and overtime requirements, if the employee is paid consistent with the salary basis test and their primary duty is managing the enterprise, or division thereof, where the employee customarily and regularly directs the work of at least two or more other full-time employees and has the authority to hire or fire or the employee’s suggestions and recommendations as to hiring, firing, etc. is given particular weight.
March 15, 2023
One Minute of Overtime
Deductions from Salaries
Welcome to One Minute of Overtime, where I will share insights on Labor and Employment Law topics, mostly related to minimum wage and overtime compliance issues. Compliance in this area of law is nuanced and technical, so it is critical for employers to audit and adjust their practices to remain compliant, so stop by to stay up-to-date and in-the-know. An employer is permitted to withhold a portion of an exempt employee’s salary in limited circumstances, such as when the employee is absent from work for one or more full days for personal reasons other than sickness or disability; for absences of one or more full days due to sickness or disability if the deduction is made in accordance with a bona fide plan, policy or practice of providing compensation for salary lost due to illness; to offset amounts employees receive as jury or witness fees, or for military pay; for penalties imposed in good faith for infractions of safety rules of major significance; or for unpaid disciplinary suspensions of one or more full days imposed in good faith for workplace conduct rule infractions.
February 15, 2023
One Minute of Overtime
Professional Exemption
Welcome to One Minute of Overtime, where I will share insights on Labor and Employment Law topics, mostly related to minimum wage and overtime compliance issues. Compliance in this area of law is nuanced and technical, so it is critical for employers to audit and adjust their practices to remain compliant, so stop by to stay up-to-date and in-the-know. An employee is exempt pursuant to the administrative exemption, and not subject to the minimum wage and overtime requirements, if the employee is paid consistent with the salary basis test (or, in some cases, a sufficient hourly rate) and their primary duty is the performance of work requiring advanced knowledge (predominantly intellectual in character) and which includes work requiring the consistent exercise of discretion and judgment where the advanced knowledge is in a field of science or learning and the advanced knowledge is customarily acquired by a prolonged course of specialized intellectual instruction.
January 18, 2023
Executive Playbook: How to Find Time as a Business Owner
On this month’s episode of the Executive Playbook, Mike Cammarata and Russell Berger discuss one of the most persistent challenges facing business owners and professionals: finding time. As the floodgates have opened and we are all stretched to our limits, it is important to have a plan, to have sufficient support, and to be thoughtful about managing where you spend your time. Mike and Russell share their personal strategies for dealing with the fact that there are only 24 hours in a day. Listen in to learn more.
December 7, 2022
Business
Executive Playbook: The Challenges of Hiring and Recruiting
On this month’s episode of the Executive Playbook, Mike Cammarata and Russell Berger discuss the practical challenges of making strategic hires and recruiting. Mike and Russell focus on the different leading indicators that should prompt business owners to move forward with a hire and then, once that decision is made, where to recruit and how best to interview. Listen in to learn more.
October 27, 2022
Business
Executive Playbook: Maryland Saves Program
On this month’s episode of the Executive Playbook, Mike Cammarata and Russell Berger discuss the new Maryland Saves program. Under this program, almost all employers in Maryland are required to either offer a retirement plan of their own or to provide their employees with access to the Maryland Saves program. While this program should not cost employers any out-of-pocket funds, it is an opportunity for employers to ensure that they are taking strategic steps to not only comply with the law but to provide meaningful benefits to employees. Listen in to learn more about the financial and legal opportunities Maryland Saves presents for business owners.
September 29, 2022
Executive Playbook: Buy/Sell Agreements
On this month’s episode of the Executive Playbook, Mike Cammarata and Russell Berger apply their knowledge as professional advisors and managers to advocate for the use of Buy/Sell Agreements between owners of a business. Mike and Russell discuss the need for a transition plan to ensure the ongoing viability of the business as well as a funding source for a buyout. They also discuss planning for potential disabilities of an owner. Listen in to learn more.
August 25, 2022
Business
Executive Playbook: Alternative Solutions for Recruiting and Retention
Recruiting and retention continues to be a challenge for employers. While employers could always pay employees more, that is not a particularly attractive solution and, in many cases, is not a solution at all. In this episode of the Executive Playbook, Mike and Russell discuss strategies that employers can implement to attract new employees and retain existing employees.
July 28, 2022
Business
Executive Playbook: Business Owners & the Changing Economy
In this episode, Russell Berger and Mike Cammarata discuss the impact of changing economic conditions on business owners. While the news is filled with stories about inflation and a slowing economy, Mike and Russell talk about the practical challenges this creates for businesses and actions that businesses can take to prepare for economic uncertainty.
June 29, 2022
Business
Executive Playbook: Planning for Your Exit
In this episode, Russell Berger and Mike Cammarata discuss strategies for preparing and planning for an exit from your company.
June 1, 2022
