WAGE AND WORKPLACE STANDARDS DIVISION CONNECTICUT DEPARTMENT OF

WAGE AND WORKPLACE STANDARDS DIVISION CONNECTICUT DEPARTMENT OF LABOR www. ct. gov/dol 1

Matthew H. Ferri Wage Enforcement Agent Public Contract Compliance PHONE: E-Mail: MOD: (860) 263 -6451/-6543 matthew. ferri@ct. gov Friday, 8: 00 am to 4: 30 pm 2

ENFORCEMENT ACTIONS Minimum Wage Rate & Overtime Laws Exemptions & Exceptions to MWR/OT Wage Payment Laws: pay period, deductions, hiring agreements, final pay, commissions Prevailing Wage Rate Laws: State Funded Construction & Service Contracts Working Conditions: child labor, FMLA, HR policies & procedures, privacy issues 3

YEARLY ACTIVITY 7, 000 Wage Investigations conducted $6+ Million in the recovery of wages $1. 5 Million in civil penalties collection Arrest of approximately 75 employers (-means of last resort/non-compliance) 52 weeks of court action 4

What I Can Do: EDUCATE LISTEN RECOMMEND GUIDE HELP 5

What I Cannot Do: Decide a case Classify your employees Write a personnel policy Determine Exempt v. Non-Exempt Re-write the Law Promise 6

An Investigator’s Perspective 7

WHAT WE DO Wage & Hour Investigation Wage Enforcement Action Workplace Standards Investigation Prevailing Wage Rate Investigation 8

99% OF COMPLAINTS ARE SUBMITTED BY FORMER EMPLOYEES 9

BEST OPPORTUNITIES FOR EMPLOYER COMMUNICATION Interview Action Hire Action Evaluation Action Disciplinary Action Separation Action 10

THE INVESTIGATION 11

RECORDS OPEN TO INSPECTION “…any and all books, registers, payrolls, and other records of any such employer that in any way appertain to or have a bearing upon the question of wages of any such persons…” CGS Chapter 558 Section 31 -59(b) 12

Time Records 13

Nature of Records “…true and accurate…” Admin Regulations Section 31 -60 -12 (Records) 14

WHAT IS NOT A TIME RECORD? WORK SCHEDULES ATTENDANCE RECORDS ASSUMED START/END TIME OF SHIFTS COMPUTER LOG ON/OFF? (-consistent edited versions) 15

WHAT IS A TIME RECORD? HANDWRITTEN TIME CARDS MECHANICALLY PUNCHED TIME CARDS COMPUTERIZED SYSTEMS (ACC: retail, restaurant, work stations) (POE: log-on/off as point of entry) FOB (security token/key) 16

TIME RECORD ROUNDING RULES True & Accurate Recording versus Assumption of Hours Worked 17

IS AN EMPLOYER REQUIRED TO ROUND TIME ENTRIES? 18

NO, BUT… IF AN EMPLOYER CHOOSES A METHOD OTHER THAN THE 15 MINUTE RULE, IT MUST BE CONSISTENTLY APPLIEDTO BOTH IN AND OUT TIME ENTRIES AND BE IN INCREMENTS OF NO GREATER THAN 15 MINUTES… 19

ROUND TO THE NEAREST UNIT OF 15 MINUTES “Quarter Hour rule” “ 7 Minute rule” “ 100’s Clock” 20

EXAMPLES USING THE “MINUTES” CLOCK 3: 59 ROUNDS FORWARD TO 4: 00 2: 20 ROUNDS BACK TO 2: 15 10: 07 ROUNDS BACK TO 10: 00 21

EXAMPLES USING THE “HUNDREDTHS” CLOCK 6. 44 ROUNDS FORWARD TO 6. 50 8. 12 ROUNDS BACK TO 8. 00 11. 03 ROUNDS BACK TO 11. 00 (See Conversion Chart) 22

HANDWRITTEN TIME RECORDS PROS: Easy to Maintain Cheapest Viewed by employees as a sign of trust CONS: Least accurate Easy to manipulate Probable “close enough” times 23

MECHANICALLY PUNCHED TIME RECORDS PROS: Easily understood Regarded as most believable format CONS: Tedious manual calculations to compute Old fashioned May be regarded as demeaning 24

COMPUTERIZED RECORDS PROS: Fast-Becoming the most accurate method Work status is immediately known CONS: Pre-programmed scheduled system Encoded with ID & Password May need training for use of system Easily edited 25

Meal Periods Working a 7 ½ hours shift or more 30 minutes in duration Paid v. Unpaid Uninterrupted: “free and clear” Interrupted: benefits the employer Can I eat at my desk? No. CGS Ch. 557 Sec. 31 -51 ii 26

Travel Time Worker is required or permitted (incidental) Worker is required or permitted (benefit) Other than his usual place for initial reporting Other than his usual place to exit daily activity CT DOL Administrative Regulations Sec. 31 -60 -10 (In relation to CGS Ch. 558/Sec. 76 b) 27

Training Time Compensable unless all four are met: Attendance is outside normal working hours Attendance is voluntary Training is not directly related to employment No productive work CT DOL Administrative Regulations Sec. 31 -60 -11 28

THE EXEMPTIONS 29

What are they exempt from? Minimum Wage/Overtime Time-keeping requirements 30

Exemption Misconceptions An employee paid a salary is exempt An employee can agree to be exempt An employee can waive rights to MWR/OT Job titles matter Job descriptions matter 31

EXECUTIVE EXEMPTION 32

EXECUTIVE EXEMPTION Primary duty must be that of management in the enterprise in which employed, or a recognized department or subdivision Monetary threshold? Hire/Fire Authority? FLSA requires last component for it to meet the US DOL Executive Exemption criterion 33

ADMINISTRATIVE EXEMPTION 34

ADMINISTRATIVE EXEMPTION Primary duty is that of office/non-manual work Directly related to management policies Performance/Exercise of discretion and independent judgment (subjective) See CT DOL WWSD Web Site for “The Test” 35

PROFESSIONAL EXEMPTION 36

PROFESSIONAL EXEMPTION Primary duty of work is of the advanced type Field of Science or artistic/creative endeavor Prolonged course of intellectual instruction and study; four-year degree + Creative in character Product depends primarily on the invention, imagination, or talent of the employee 37

The Salary Test $475 weekly/short test version Regardless of quantity of work Limited deduction opportunities Compensation Incentive Admin Regulations Section 31 -60 -14(b) 38

The Duties Test Primary Duty Authority Discretion & Independent Judgment Supervises Two or More Employees Admin Regulations Section 31 -60 -14/-15 39

SALARY A salary is a consistent sum of money given to an employee, each pay period, regardless of Time worked Quality of Work Quantity of Work 40

Please do not reduce an employee’s salary under any condition, except… …as defined within CT DOL admin regulations in section 31 -60 -14(b) labeled as “salary basis” 41

CT DOL WAGE PAYMENT LAWS CGS Chapter 558 Sections 31 -71 a to 31 -71 i 42

Section 31 -71 a A Wage: Compensation for labor or service rendered by an employee Calculated by time, task, piece or by commission (- contractual? ) 43

Section 31 -71 b Wages Must be Paid: Weekly Regular pay designated in advance Not more than eight days past the last day of the pay period In cash, negotiable check, or at the employees’ request by direct-deposit 44

Section 31 -71 c Wages upon Termination: Voluntary termination (quit): the next regular pay day Discharge (fired): the next business day after discharge 45

Section 31 -71 d Wages Due If Disputed: Employer must pay all wages conceded to be due Release is void if wages are later found to be due 46

Section 31 -71 e Withholding of Part of Wages (Deductions): Empowered by law Written authorization Medical, surgical, dental insurance Retirement/annuity (401 k) 47

Section 31 -71 f Written Hiring Agreements: Employees must be notified in writing as to: Rate of remuneration Hours of employment Wage payment schedules Employment practices and policies regarding wages, vacation pay, health and welfare benefits (-verbal? ) 48

Section 31 -69 a Civil Penalty …shall be liable to the labor department for a civil penalty of three hundred dollars for each violation… 49

Questions/Information (860) 263 -6790/-6791 www. ct. gov/dol (860) 263 -6451/-6543 matthew. ferri@ct. gov 50

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