Workers in Tennessee and across the country may be affected by a new rule on overtime pay scheduled to be announced soon. Reports indicate that the Department of Labor has drafted a new regulation for review by the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs. The agency must review new regulations before they go into effect to ensure that the rule-making process meets with legal standards and responsibilities. It can take up to three months to review the proposed rule, but no minimum period is required before approval.
What the law considers unpaid wages
When employees in Tennessee work for an employer, they must be paid. The pay must come on a regular schedule, and in some cases, overtime wages are required. Workers are advised to check their pay stubs and tax documents to ensure that they have received the wages that they are entitled to. There are many ways in which an employer could try to avoid paying an employee.
On-call work may entitle employees to overtime pay
If employees in Tennessee or any other state are asked to be on-call for their employers, they may be entitled to overtime pay. This depends on how many hours they work during the rest of the week and how much time is spent working while on-call. Generally speaking, employees are considered to be working if they are not able to pursue personal activities during a certain period of time.
Reporting an employer to the Tennessee Labor Board
When an employer in Tennessee has a work-related complaint to file, it's not always as simple as going to a single agency. In fact, there are different Tennessee Department of Labor and Workforce Development divisions, and each one handles different types of employer complaints. When workers know where to turn to file a complaint, the investigation process will generally begin sooner. Also, having the alleged violation(s) officially documented may minimize issues employees may have if they need to pursue legal action.
Business travel expenses can be confusing
Tennessee business owners often struggle with properly treating employee expenses as deductible for IRS purposes, and this is particularly true for travel expenses. The general rule that time spent traveling for work-related activities must be paid and is therefore a deductible expense seems clear. However, what exactly is meant by "work-related activities" is not as certain.
Employer payments for travel expenses
Many employees in Tennessee engage in travel within the state and to other states for work purposes on a regular basis. Employers who require their employees to travel for work must comply with work regulations for travel reimbursements. Workers should be paid for any time spent traveling for work, but employers do not need to compensate workers for time spent going to and from work.
Tennessee workers paid $678,296 in wage and hour case
A military contractor has paid $678,296 to compensate workers at a Tennessee munitions plant for unpaid wages, benefits and overtime according to a statement from the Department of Labor. The Iowa-based contractor operates the Milan Army Ammunition Plant in Gibson County as part of the military's Armament Retooling and Manufacturing Support Program. DOL investigators began scrutinizing the company after workers complained about unpaid overtime and denied benefits.
Protection for minors in Tennessee's labor laws
Minors who work in Tennessee are subject to child labor protections designed to keep young workers from being exploited. There are a number of exceptions to the law as well as prohibited occupations for people under the age of 18. Regulations also include various hour restrictions, especially for younger teens. For example, 14- and 15-year-olds may not work more than three hours a day or 18 hours a week when school is in session, even though they can work up to eight hours a day or 40 hours a week during school vacations.
Lawsuit from Trump's driver seeks $200,000 in unpaid overtime
The lawsuit filed by President Trump's long-time personal driver illustrates the problems that employees in Tennessee sometimes have getting paid for overtime. Court filings from the 59-year-old man described the Trump Organization's failure to pay him for 3,300 hours of overtime over the course of six years. He wants a settlement of about $200,000.
Minority women face racial and gender discrimination at work
Since 1963, when the Equal Pay Act became law in the United States, employers in Tennessee have had a legal obligation to pay men and women the same amount of money for the same work. Reality has fallen far short of that goal. Women persistently earn lower pay than their male counterparts for the same jobs do, and the pay gap is even higher for African American, Latina and Native American women. The general counsel for the National Women's Law Center attributed the lower pay for minority women to the people running companies. They lack awareness of the issue and fail to enforce employment laws meant to counteract discrimination.
