New Mexico Attorneys to Explain How to Avoid Payroll Administration Problems

To help New Mexico employers get a handle on payroll policy mistakes, attorneys with AlbuquerqueÇs Tinnin Law Firm will conduct a full-day seminar entitled Wage & Hour Master Class: The Advanced Interactive Workshop for New Mexico Employers Tuesday, December 2, at the Embassy Suites Hotel at 1000 Woodward Place NE.

Last year, the U.S. Department of LaborÇs Wage and Hour Division collected over $166 million in pay for employees who were unjustly or mistakenly denied overtime pay, initiating over 36,000 compliance actions. The 2004 FairPay regulations are confusing to more than a few managers. The DivisionÇs own investigation revealed that only half of American employers are in compliance with FairPay.

Given the widespread nature of non-compliance with the Fair Labor Standards Act, we should expect to see agency watchdogs and plaintiffÇs attorneys turn violations into some very expensive headaches for more HR managers and employers, says attorney and speaker Robert Tinnin. And more and more cases are getting class-action approval, which really can make for some devastating damages and fines.

Tinnin revealed some of the situations the Master Class will address. LetÇs say youÇre an HR manager and you want to set up a committee to ease communication between salaried and hourly employees. The committee meets at the end of the day shift, one day per month, and participation is voluntary. Do you have to pay overtime to the hourly workers who attend?

Or say an employee whoÇs exempt from getting overtime works less than 4 hours in a day. Will charging her time-off balance for anything less than a full day jeopardize her exempt status, or is charging her a half day alright?

These are the finds of issues that weÇll help employers understand, he said

HR Managers, employers, and fellow counsel wishing to participate may register online at www.hrhero.com/nm-flsa or by calling 800-274-6774.