Problem
We recently received a Department of Labor complaint. The complaint claims that employees are not paid properly for overtime in any area of the company and states that employees have brought their concerns to management repeatedly with no resolution. I have been asked to investigate the root cause of the complaint and will begin the investigation with the payroll department.
The complaint states that employees have complained about unfair wages. I will begin my analysis by reviewing the Employee Job Description. The next step is to determine if the employees should be classified as exempt or nonexempt (section two of the FLSA Designation Worksheet). Note that the minimum salary was recently changed to $35,568.
Continue my investigation by analyzing the Timesheet Records document to see if the employees were fairly compensated based on my determination of their classification. When all necessary information is gathered, present the findings and recommendations in a risk memo. You will need to summarize your findings and the potential risks for noncompliance with management.
Lastly, examine the section of the Project One Employee Handbook Sample that addresses overtime compensation for employees. Analyze the section for gaps related to the employee complaint that's being investigated. Draft a memo to your manager to document the errors that you found, explain why these errors conflict with laws and regulations, and recommend corrections or revisions to that section of the handbook.
A. Complaint Investigation: Determine if the employees are exempt or nonexempt utilizing the required worksheet.
B. Risk Memo:
a. Present Findings: Explain if employees should be considered exempt or nonexempt.
b. Employee Pay: Discuss conclusions as to whether the employees are being paid correctly or not. Use examples to support your conclusions.
c. Investigating Risk: Describe the potential risks to the company if the complaint is not addressed or if there is insufficient data to support the answers.
C. Handbook Analysis:
a. Gaps: Analyze the employee handbook to identify gaps related to the employee complaint. In your memo, document the specific handbook error.
b. Policy Violations: Explain why the current handbook policy conflicts with laws and regulations by providing examples to support your ideas.
D. Handbook Recommendations: Recommend corrections or revisions to the handbook for addressing the identified error.
E. Risk Mitigation: Describe the action that the organization can take to mitigate future risk in addition to revising the handbook. Consider existing policies and training approaches and how HR can contribute to this.