Author: Brian Lund
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For covered workers, a 50-hour week still earns overtime even if next week is short
A covered, nonexempt employee who works 50 hours in one workweek generally earns 10 hours of overtime, even if the next week contains only 30 hours. Federal law treats each workweek separately and does not let an employer average the two weeks into 40 hours apiece. Payroll schedules can group weeks on one check, but…
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Ford’s 66,383-hybrid recall letters arrive this week with the full free fix unfinished
Ford is mailing interim recall notices this week for 66,383 hybrid SUVs whose pedestrian warning sound can fail in electric mode. Some Lincoln Nautilus vehicles have a free dealer replacement available, while the broader remedy for other causes remains under development. Owners should treat the letter as an active safety notice, not as confirmation that…
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Federal tax credits for new windows, furnaces and solar panels ended after 2025
A homeowner buying replacement windows, a furnace or rooftop solar in 2026 cannot build the old federal household energy credits into the budget. The IRS now shows the Energy Efficient Home Improvement Credit and Residential Clean Energy Credit ending with property installed through 2025. State incentives, utility rebates and manufacturer discounts may still exist, but…
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Could $1,350 monthly income qualify you to have Medicare premiums, deductibles and copays paid?
A monthly income of $1,350 can put a single Medicare beneficiary at the usual 2026 federal limit for the Qualified Medicare Beneficiary program. QMB is unusually valuable because it can cover Part A and Part B premiums and the deductibles, coinsurance and copayments attached to Medicare-covered care. The figure is a reason to apply, not…
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A checking account advertised as free cannot charge monthly or minimum-balance fees
“Free checking” is not supposed to mean free only until a balance dips or the calendar turns. When a bank or credit union advertises an account as free or no cost, federal rules bar monthly service charges and fees for failing to maintain a minimum balance. Other charges can still apply, so the account’s name…
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Credit-card billing errors must be disputed in writing within 60 days
A quick phone call may alert a card issuer to a wrong charge, but it does not replace the written notice that preserves federal billing-error rights. The cardholder has no more than 60 days after the issuer sent the statement containing the error to deliver that dispute. Missing the clock can surrender powerful protections even…
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A debt collector’s pay-to-pay fee is illegal unless your contract or the law permits it
A few dollars added to every phone or online payment can make an already difficult debt more expensive. Federal consumer guidance says a third-party debt collector may collect that pay-to-pay charge only when the agreement that created the debt expressly authorizes it or a law specifically permits it. Silence in the contract and silence in…
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VitalSource will pay $150,000 after firing a hospitalized worker who sought disability leave
Running out of paid leave does not automatically end an employer’s duty to consider disability accommodation. VitalSource Technologies has agreed to pay $150,000 in back pay and compensatory damages after a federal investigation found reasonable cause to believe it fired a hospitalized employee who had requested leave for her absence and recovery. The agreement focuses…
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Employee-chosen midday commutes can remain unpaid even when work happens before and after
Hybrid schedules can put a commute in the middle of a day that contains work on both sides. A new Labor Department opinion says that travel can remain unpaid when the employee voluntarily chooses the split, controls the arrangement and is fully off duty while moving between home and the office. The result protects flexibility,…
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Required client-scheduling calls can start a field worker’s paid day, Labor says
A field employee’s workday may begin before the first client appointment when the job requires real scheduling and coordination from home. In a new fact-specific opinion, the U.S. Department of Labor concluded that required client calls and related coordination were compensable work and could start the continuous paid day. The answer does not convert every…
