Kentucky Employment Law Notes

6th Circuit affirms DOL backpay award

Yesterday in Chao v. Akron Insulation & Supply (unpublished), the 6th Circuit affirmed a district court judgment in favor of the DOL finding the employer owed $94,000 to employees for back pay and overtime.  The case is a good primer (or at least refresher) on the issue of what is "work time."  The case should be a wake up call for any employer that requires its employees to be present for instruction prior to an official start time.  The case is also a good reminder on the importance of keeping accurate "hours of work" records -- not just for compliance, but also to aid in the defense of a back-pay claim.

Post-Script --  On generally the same topic, see today's DOL announcement, "Sterling Jewelers Agrees to Pay $1.29 Million in Back Wages to 16,820 Workers in 41 States"

New DOL Opinion Letter Regarding Civic & Charitable Activities

The DOL has released a new opinion letter addressing situations in which an employer encourages, but does not require, participation in charitable or volunteer activities.  The question, obviously, relates to whether time spent on such activities is compensable.  The entire letter is worth checking out (which you can do here), but here is a good summary quote:

Therefore, the employer need not compensate an employee for time spent volunteering for charitable purposes if the work is performed outside of normal working hours and the employee is truly volunteering, not performing the volunteer work as a result of coercion or pressure by the employer.  Thus, employees who volunteer in a fundraising project of a local charity that is not connected with the employer need not be compensated for the time volunteered, provided they are not performing duties relating to their employment.  See WH Opinion Letters June 20, 1983 and July 31, 2001 (copies enclosed).  However, while the employer may occasionally sponsor a Habitat for Humanity project or a blood drive, if there is a significant connection between the employer and the charity, they may be found to be a single enterprise under FLSA section 3(r).  In that case, the hours worked for the charity must be combined with the hours worked for the employer and compensated.

 

 

Toyota Agrees To Back-Pay For Donning Time

Today's Courier-Journal includes a story entitled, "Toyota Workers To Receive Back Pay."  At issue was the time spent by certain employees to put on (i.e. don) certain protective apparel and walk to their work stations.  Last fall the Supreme Court in the Alvarez case held that such time is compensable.  A summary of Alvarez can be read here.  One lesson: if possible, locate safety apparel changing rooms close to employees’ actual work stations.

Wage & Hour: Wal-Mart Found Liable In Cal. Regarding Meal Periods

Most states require employees to receive an unpaid meal period if they work over a certain length of time.  As reported by the Associated Press, earlier today a California jury awarded $172 million to thousands of employees at Wal-Mart Stores who claimed they were illegally denied lunch breaks. Wal-Mart was ordered to pay $57 million in general damages and $115 million in punitive damages to about 116,000 current and former California employees for violating a 2001 California law that requires employers to give 30-minute, unpaid lunch breaks to employees who work at least six hours.

If you are wondering, the Kentucky meal period law is KRS 337.355, which states:

Employers, except those subject to the Federal Railway Labor Act, shall grant their employees a reasonable period for lunch, and such time shall be as close to the middle of the employee's scheduled work shift as possible. In no case shall an employee be required to take a lunch period sooner than three (3) hours after his work shift commences, nor more than five (5) hours from the time his work shift commences. This section shall not be construed to negate any provision of a collective bargaining agreement or mutual agreement between the employee and employer.

A "reasonable period" is not defined in the Kentucky Statute. The applicable regulation (803 KAR 1:065), however, states:

Bona fide meal periods are not worktime. Bona fide meal periods do not include coffee breaks or time for snacks. These are rest periods. The employee must be completely relieved from duty for the purpose of eating regular meals. Ordinarily, thirty (30) minutes or more is long enough for a bona fide meal period. A shorter period may be long enough under special conditions. The employee is not relieved if he is required to perform any duties, whether active or inactive, while eating. It is not necessary that an employee be permitted to leave the premises if he is otherwise completed freed from duties during the meal period.