Well known asset management company State Street Corporation will pay $5 million to settle allegations of pay inequity raised by the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) in an audit. OFFCP alleged that the company paid female executives less than men and black executives less than whites at its Boston headquarters. The landmark settlement agreement is the largest back pay settlement collected by OFCCP since 2015.

By way of background, OFCCP audits federal contractors and subcontractors for compliance with workplace affirmative action and nondiscrimination requirements. OFCCP conducted a compensation analysis of State Street’s downtown Boston office in December 2012. According to OFFCP, that analysis revealed that, since at least December 2010, there were “statistically significant” disparities in compensation between male and female workers and black and white workers even when “legitimate factors affecting pay” such as performance, experience and education were taken into account.
Continue Reading The OFCCP strikes, puts State Street’s pay inequity problem out on Front Street

Many employees believe they are entitled to holiday pay, even if they do not work on the holiday. This is not the case. In fact, neither the Fair Labor Standards Act (“FLSA”) nor most state laws, including Ohio, require a private employer to pay hourly employees for working or not working on holidays (federal or otherwise).
Continue Reading ‘Tis the Season for Holiday Workplace Issues. Day 4 – Holiday Pay and How Not to Get Scrooged by the FLSA

Are you making improper deductions from employees’ pay without even realizing it?  Have you ever had a manager who is consistently late and you want to impose a fine equal to 15 minutes of pay for each occurrence?  Or an hourly employee who loses or destroys company tools or equipment and you want them to pay you back for what they broke?  What about an employee who resigns while he or she has a negative leave balance? In all these situations, making a deduction from pay makes logical sense.  But these deductions may be contrary to wage and hour law.

First, many states have laws requiring employers to obtain employee authorization prior to making deductions from pay.  The Ohio wage and hour statutes refer to “employee authorized deductions” generally and specifically require employers to have express authorization before making deductions for damage to tools or equipment.  See Ohio Rev. Code §§ 4113.15; 4113.19.  Pay careful attention to state law before you make any deductions from pay!  You should also consider including a general deductions policy in your handbook, and realize that you may need to obtain specific waivers for certain deductions from pay.Continue Reading Deductions From Pay Can Be Dangerous!