DOL, Texas AFT step up efforts to end wage and hour violations

The U.S. Department of Labor is in the process of hiring 250 new field investigators to increase enforcement of wage and hour laws in the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). Secretary of Labor Hilda Solis identified minimum wage compliance, properly paid overtime, and child labor laws as areas that the agency plans to target with the additional manpower.

Federal investigators won’t be the only ones on the lookout for FLSA violations. On the state level, Texas AFT plans to step up its efforts to end “…pervasive overtime abuses harming school support employees” by ensuring that districts provide time off or overtime pay for nonexempt employees who work more than 40 hours in a week.

The organization provided local leaders with advocacy toolkits including step-by-step advice to bring districts into compliance with the FLSA. In the past, Texas AFT has negotiated local policy changes and filed grievances and lawsuits to combat FLSA abuses.

School districts are most likely to make the following wage and hour mistakes:

• Failing to keep accurate time records
• Incorrectly calculating overtime and compensatory time off for nonexempt employees who perform multiple duties at different rates of pay
• Classifying employees as exempt when the duties performed don’t meet exemption tests

HR Services provides training on wage and hour rules and has written a book on FLSA compliance  for school administrators.