Industry Spotlight: How to mitigate wage and hour litigation in the post-acute industry
Wage and hour litigation is on the rise with an increase in DOL investigations and industry focused attention by the wage and hour division. One of the industries with a wage and hour spotlight on it (or a target, depending on your point of view) is the post-acute industry.
Home health agencies are often involved in wage and hour litigation due to the majority of workers being hourly but not working in a traditional work environment or predictable schedule. Attorneys Michael Lombardino and Gregory Saikin of BakerHostetler composed a ‘top 10 list‘ informing employers in this industry how to avoid wage and hour litigation.
- Pay attention to changes in the law as federal and state wage and hour laws are always being updated.
- Use a reliable and accurate time-keeping system as most wage and hour allegations involve incorrect recording or maintaining of time worked.
- Make sure written policies are comprehensive, making attendance and timekeeping policies easy to understand.
- Conduct a wage and hour audit with outside counsel.
- Conduct compliance training to supervisory and managerial staff as well as HR representatives.
- Be aware that separate companies may not be viewed as separate in the eyes of the law. The DOL could deem two companies ‘joint employers’, greatly affecting their liability.
- Meal breaks should follow the rules of meal breaks, meaning they should be an uninterrupted half hour. You can learn more about the analysis of missed meal breaks here.
- Be conscious of remote employees and if they should be compensated for their time spent commuting or travelling between workplaces.
- Accurately calculate “regular rate” of pay – because it can be complicated, wage and hour violations in this area are frequently made.
- Be prepared to defend exemptions as it is an employer’s burden to prove the proper classification of employees.
Relevant reading:
Hot wage and hour issues for home healthcare employers from Littler.
