You probably know that Treaty Oak is a trusted resource for lots of local employers (after all, if you’re reading this you’re probably one of them!). But did you know that even the Texas Workforce Commission trusts us to guide the state’s employers?
This year, our founder Natalie was the sole private attorney invited to present at the TWC’s Conference for Employers series. Over the next several months, employers are invited to reserve their spot at any of the seminars taking place all across the state so they can hear about key legal obligations, evolving trends, and frequent business missteps the state’s oversight agency wants you to understand. In other words, these seminars cover the compliance issues the TWC is going to be paying attention to.
Want to avoid violations and the costly fines that come with them? Of course you do! But we’re well aware that it’s impossible for every business to make it to one of these events in person. Plus, right now changes are happening so fast that keeping up can feel like a full-time job.
Because of that, we’re doing two things:
- Publishing a series of posts covering the topics from the conference. This is the first in that series.
- Holding a live monthly class via Zoom with Natalie and her team to download the most up-to-date info to you. Register for those classes by clicking the banner below.
That’s a lot, we know, but right now we’re in an “a lot” kind of time, and everyone has to do what they can to power through it.
Below, we’re covering the top 15 wage issues that employers need to understand to avoid running afoul of the TWC. Ready?
Top 15 Wage Issues Employers Should Understand to Avoid Problems with the TWC
Again, these are the types of things that the TWC will be watching employers for related to wages and payments. The following are some super generalized comments and you should realize there are caveats and sub-rules to every one of the items below.
1. Are you correctly following minimum wage standards?
- Under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), the federal minimum wage is currently $7.25 per hour, unchanged since 2009.
- This is also the minimum wage across the state of Texas.
2. Are you following overtime pay regulations?
- For non-exempt employees, overtime pay is calculated at one and a half times the regular rate for hours worked over 40 in a seven-day workweek. Calculating this has really strict rules.
- For salaried non-exempt employees, the calculation depends on how the salary is structured.
- For fluctuating work weeks, a fixed salary compensates all hours, and overtime is calculated using a specific method. Calculating this has really really (really) strict rules.
- The standard work week for overtime purposes is typically Monday through Sunday.
3. Are you following child labor regulations?
- Children under 14 are generally prohibited from working, although there are exceptions for parent-owned businesses.
- Children aged 14-15 have restricted work hours and cannot work overtime or night shifts.
- Children aged 16-17 can work any hours but cannot perform hazardous duties.
4. Do you adhere to the FLSA’s requirements for equal pay for men and women?
- Equal pay is required for men and women doing the same job with the same qualifications.
- However, pay differences are permissible if they’re based on factors unrelated to gender.
5. Are you following Texas Payday Law?
- The Texas Payday Law focuses on enforcing wage agreements and timely payment of wages.
- Employers must honor the wage agreement that was in effect when the work was performed.
- If someone leaves your employ, final pay deadlines depend on whether the separation was voluntary or involuntary.
- Any wage deductions must be court-ordered, required by law, or authorized in writing by the employee.
- Employers should have an explicit, written wage deduction authorization agreement.
- Direct deposit and payroll card payments require employee consent.
6. Do you adhere to OSHA regulations regarding restroom breaks?
- Quite simply, OSHA requires employers to provide restroom breaks.
- No other types of breaks are required by law.
7. Are you following all requirements set down in any wage agreements? Some examples include:
- Premium pay for unusual hours.
- Fringe benefits and expense reimbursements.
8. Are you correctly compensating on-call time?
- For some (and only some) employees who are on-call, only the time actually responding to calls counts as work time. The clock starts as soon as they receive a call and stops when they resume personal activities.
- For those unpaid on-call workers, employees can use the time that they are not actively on calls for their own purposes.
9. Are you correctly compensating “waiting time”?
- Waiting time counts as work time if the employee is waiting to be told what to do and cannot use that time effectively for their own purposes.
- This is not on-call time.
10. If your employees do get breaks, are you correctly paying for break time?
- Ordinary coffee or rest breaks count as work time because they are for the mutual benefit of both the company and the employee.
- Meal breaks may not count as work time if the employee is fully relieved of duty.
11. If you employ home healthcare workers, are you correctly paying for sleep time?
- If home healthcare workers get five hours of uninterrupted sleep, that time does not count as work time.
- If sleep is generally interrupted, all of that time counts as work time.
12. Are you correctly paying for employee travel time?
- Each employee’s normal commute does not count as work time.
- Travel between job sites during the workday, however, must be paid.
- For one-day assignments in another city, extra travel time over the normal commute is paid.
- Overnight travel counts as work time during normal work hours.
13. Are you adhering to the rules for voluntary and unauthorized overtime?
- There is no such thing as “voluntary” overtime. It still must be paid as overtime under the law.
- Unauthorized overtime must be paid – even if it wasn’t approved.
14. Are you correctly following the criteria for exempt employees?
- Salary requirements
- The minimum salary is $684 per week.
- Exempt salary employees are evaluated based on results, not hours worked.
- Regulation 541.602 outlines the salary test, with exceptions for personal business and sickness. This is another rule with some real tricks.
- Regulation 541.604 allows extra pay for extra work for exempt employees. Again, this rule is difficult to interpret in its application.
- Computer professionals can be paid at least $684/week or a straight-time hourly rate of $27.63 per hour.
- Category requirements
- Exempt categories include executive, administrative, and professional employees, among others.
- Executive exemption applies to those with true executive authority.
- Administrative employees handle major business aspects with discretion.
- Professional exemptions include learned and creative professionals.
- Outside sales representatives work primarily outside the principal place of business.
- There are strict statutory rules about applying these labels to your workers.
15. Are you using allowable methods to pay your employees?
- Common methods include hand delivery and direct deposit.
- If you mail paychecks, it must be done by registered mail.
- Direct deposit requires employee agreement with the financial institution.
- Wage payments must not incur fees that take employees below minimum wage.
So there you have it. Except it is actually way more complicated — those are some of the wage issues the TWC is going to be paying attention to!
If you have questions or concerns related to whether you are compliant with all wage requirements (there’s a lot, we know), don’t hesitate to reach out to us.
