Fair Labor Standards Act: Are Your Employees Classified Correctly?

Why Should You Attend:

In March 2014, President Obama signed a presidential memorandum authorizing the Labor Department to examine changes that would expand the number of employees eligible for overtime pay. Why? Businesses are classifying all kinds of employees as professional or administrative — including some who make as little as $23,660 a year — thereby exempting them from overtime requirements under current law.

Penalties for non-compliance with FLSA’s exemption provisions can include:

• Payment of back wages
• Fines of $10,000
• Imprisonment

This should serve as a wakeup call to employers to make sure they are compliant with the FLSA law.

This webinar on FLSA compliance will deliver an overview of the Fair Labor Standards Act, distinguish between exempt and non-exempt criteria, and specify guidelines to prepare for FLSA inspections. The session will elaborate the consequences of non-compliance with FLSA’s exemption provisions and discuss penalties for the same.

Areas Covered in the Webinar:

• Overview of the FLSA
• Exempt vs. non-exempt criteria
• How to appropriately deduct pay from an exempt employee for suspensions, furloughs, etc.
• What to expect and how to prepare for FLSA inspections
• Overview of independent contractors versus employees
• Misclassifying workers as independent contractors
• Penalties and consequences for non-compliance

Who Will Benefit:

• Business Owners
• Managers
• HR Representatives
• HR Generalists
• HR Assistants
• Consultants
• Supervisors

Instructor Profile:

Vanessa G. Nelson, MSA, SPHR, CLRL, is founder and president of award-winning Expert Human Resources, which she founded to help companies maintain employment law compliance, avoid workplace litigation, reduce costs, and increase revenue.

Ms. Nelson established Expert Human Resources in 2009 after observing companies' frustrations over compliance with constantly changing employment laws as well as continually dealing with workplace litigations and fines. She realized that a lot of the litigious situations that businesses encountered could be avoided by being proactive and implementing updated polices and applying them correctly. She also recognized that many companies could not afford a full-time HR person, or department, to assist in maintaining compliance with employment laws, as well as applying policies and practices correctly; therefore she established a "portable HR" to accommodate those businesses.

Ms. Nelson is a results-oriented HR consultant with a unique background in business management, spanning over 29 years at two major medical centers in Michigan. Her expertise includes: HR audits, labor relations, employment laws, employee relations, workplace investigations, and policies and procedures. Additionally, Ms. Nelson has worked with companies to implement processes to improve conflict management and employee relations and has conducted harassment training to improve company efficiencies. She has helped companies save hundreds of thousands of dollars.

Ms. Nelson received her Master of Science in Administration/Human Resources Management from Central Michigan University, and a Bachelor in Business Management from Northwood University. She holds the Certified Senior Professional in Human Resources (SPHR) credential from Human Resources Certification Institute, Certified Labor Relations Leader (CLRL) from Michigan State University, and is Six Sigma White Belt certified.

Topic Background:

FLSA cases have hit a new record high and continue to rise. A record breaking 8,126 FLSA suits were filed in federal courts in the last year. All in all, there has been an increase of over 400% since the year 2000.

FLSA requires employers to pay all employees at least a minimum wage and provide overtime pay for all hours worked in excess of 40 in a workweek. However, the FLSA permits employers to treat employees in certain positions that meet specific requirements as exempt from overtime coverage under the law. In general, the FLSA’s exemptions apply to executives, administrators, professionals, and computer technicians.

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