Category: Paychecks & Work
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DC Water pays nearly $217,000 over an older worker replaced by someone younger
He was an experienced member of the human resources department at the water utility serving the nation’s capital — by the federal government’s account, a high performer with no warnings in his file. In September 2023 he was fired anyway, and government lawyers said the person hired into his place was substantially younger and less…
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Hundreds of truck drivers will share $2.22 million after fuel and toll deductions sometimes erased entire paychecks
Picture finishing a full week of container runs out of Newark and opening the pay statement to a negative number — not a small check, but a bill, because deductions for fuel, tolls, parking, insurance, and truck repairs had swallowed the entire week’s gross pay. New Jersey investigators say that is exactly what happened in…
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Goodyear’s Fayetteville closure will eliminate about 1,750 jobs by the end of 2027
A factory closing over more than a year can squeeze a community long before the final shift ends. Goodyear has approved the permanent closure of its Fayetteville, North Carolina, tire plant, a plan that includes roughly 1,750 job reductions and is expected to be substantially complete by the end of 2027. The long runway gives…
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Gig income is taxable without a 1099, but the QBI deduction is now permanent
A missing Form 1099 does not make app earnings, cash jobs or other gig income tax-free. The IRS requires workers to report taxable gig income regardless of the payment method or whether an information form arrives. At the same time, eligible independent workers can continue using the qualified business income deduction because current federal law…
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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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Earning $684 a week alone does not make a salaried worker overtime-exempt
A salary of $684 a week clears one federal threshold used for several white-collar overtime exemptions, but it does not settle the question. Most executive, administrative and professional exemptions require the employer to satisfy a salary-level test, a salary-basis test and a duties test. A job title or a fixed paycheck cannot replace the missing…
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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…
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Dallas Barber will pay damages after rejecting a pregnant applicant who passed its skills test
A successful skills test should move a qualified job applicant closer to a hiring decision, not become irrelevant after an employer learns she is pregnant. Dallas Barber and Stylist College has agreed to pay monetary damages and provide other relief to settle a federal lawsuit over exactly that sequence. The government did not disclose the…