Solving the Unsolvable – Sandy Offers Wake Up Call for Updating Wage and Hour policies!

Tropical storm Sandy created havoc for businesses trying to rebuild as quickly as possible but it is important to remember that there are NO emergency exceptions to wage and hour laws.

Many states have deadlines for providing paychecks to employers and they typically do not make exceptions for natural disasters. Some states have a financial penalty for each day a paycheck is late.

The Department of Labor projects that approximately 80% of all US employers are in violation of Wage and Hour laws to some degree.

Wage and Hour claims include issues such as:

-         Misclassification of workers between exempt and non-exempt.

-         Failure to pay for meal and break periods.

-         So-called “donning and doffing” claims.

-         Allegations of failing to pay for “Off-the-clock” work.

-         Failure to include bonuses and commissions in the computation of base pay.

One recent study by a major employment law firm showed that 88% of employment class actions that they handled in 2011 involved Wage and Hour issues which can cost employers MILLIONS of dollars.

The insurance marketplace has historically failed to provide a solution for this exposure and typical EPLI policies outright exclude coverage………Until Now.