By Dinita L. James, Gonzalez Law, LLC
The U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals—which covers Alaska, Arizona, California, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, Oregon, and Washington—recently heard a series of claims related to employers violating the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) tip credit by paying wait staff the subminimum wage when they were engaged in tasks unrelated to serving or bartending, such as cleaning toilets. In its ruling, the court ran counter to a previous decision it made on a similar case, but read on to learn more about the specific facts to each claim.

By Susan Prince, J.D., M.S.L., Legal Editor
Minimum wage increases will affect numerous states across the country in January 2019.

By Jane Meacham, Contributing Editor
Employer-sponsored 401(k) plans with above-average performance criteria are likely to be offered by companies that have 20% to 80% higher corporate profitability than companies with average-rated plans, according to new T. Rowe Price research.

By Bridget Miller, Contributing Editor
In a highly competitive hiring landscape, employers are looking for ways to differentiate themselves to prospective employees. One option is to provide a more attractive or unique benefits package by including new and interesting benefit options.

Taco Bell permits employees to buy a reduced-price meal but requires them to eat the meal in the restaurant. Does that turn what would otherwise be an unpaid meal break into paid time?

By Emeka Oguh, Founder and CEO of PeopleJoy
Employees in every industry are burdened with student loan debt. According to the latest Federal Reserve data, Americans carry over $1.5 trillion in student loans. The amount continues to grow every quarter. PricewaterhouseCoopers’ 2018 Employee Financial Wellness Survey revealed that 54% of employees are stressed about their finances, and 64% are impacted by student loans. So, what can we do about it?

By Brian Bouchard
Technology companies have revolutionized the economic landscape—except when it comes to paying their salesforce. In that arena, wage and hour laws reign supreme and maintain a firm (and some might say archaic) grasp on how sales personnel are compensated.