Waitstaff Lawsuits on the Rise!

You are invited to attend the regularly scheduled meeting of HR Confidential – Waitstaff Lawsuits on the Rise! – which will take place on October 26, 2022 at 11:00 AM. HR Confidential is a programming supplement offered by Lee Jacobs and the HL Employment Practices Group, where they regularly meet with clients, friends, industry professionals and others to discuss best practices for hiring, employing, and terminating employees.

Over the last month, Lee’s group has seen a staggering increase in the number of threatened and filed litigations relating to payroll and compliance practices. If you are not in compliance and you get sued, the amount you may have to pay is downright frightening! During this conversation, we will delve deeper into the best practices that ensure that you are not only paying your employees the right amount, but in the correct way as well. You can register for this upcoming webinar here:

HR Confidential | Waitstaff Lawsuits on the Rise! | October 26, 2022

Sadly, even if the outcome is the right one—like paying your employees exactly what they are owed, or immediately terminating a confirmed sexual harasser—If you do not follow the mandated process regarding both areas, you leave yourself open and exposed! Compliant employment practices are not just paying your employees the right amount each week, it now includes how you pay them, when you pay them, and how you conduct investigations of complaints and the reasonableness of accommodation requests.

Every complaint and accommodation request, regardless of the type – harassment, discrimination, disability, etc. – must follow a defined process, from inception to resolution.

PAYSTUB COMPLIANCE

Did you know that if you fail to include with each and every paycheck a paystub that contains very specific information, you leave yourself wildly exposed?  It is not enough just pay your employees what they are owed – minimum wage, overtime, spread of hours, call-in pay, exempt vs. non-exempt, tip credit, 80/20/30 compliance, etc. – you are also legally obligated to provide them with a paystub which meets the requirements of New York’s Wage Theft Prevention Act (“WTPA”). The WTPA mandates that with every wage payment to your employees, it must be accompanied by a wage statement (or paystub) that contains”

• Employee’s name;

• Employer’s name, address, and phone number;

• Dates covered by the payment;

• Hours worked (both regular and overtime);

• Rates of pay;

• How the employee is paid (e.g., hourly, salary, commission, etc.);

• Gross and net wages;

• Itemized deductions; and

• Itemized allowances and credits claimed by the employer.

Failure to strictly comply with this requirement may expose you to liability to the tune of $250 per pay period per employee (capping at $5,000 per employee) where the paystub does not meet these requirements.  (As an aside, this rule, and its fines, are separate from the WTPA’s Wage Acknowledgment Form – LS54, LS55, LS59, etc. – requirements).

As a lead up to our October 26, 2022 Webinar, let our Employment Practices team check your paystub to see if your stubs are compliant! Through this free review, we will let you know what is (and isn’t) in alignment with the WTPA and offer any relevant best practices and tips.

You can submit your paystub for review by using the link below:

HR Confidential | Paystub Review

Once again, it is not so much about the result, but the journey to that result—including yearly updates of your handbook and sexual harassment identification and prevention training.  During Waitstaff Lawsuits on the Rise!, Lee’s team will go over the particulars of how to ensure that you are paying your employees the right away and responding to investigations appropriately.

HR Confidential strives to be an interactive affair and welcomes your comments and questions.  As is customary, the session will conclude with an open forum where Lee, Chloe and Claudia encourage you to unmute yourself, turn on your camera, and pose any questions you may have!