In the course we discuss the wage and hour laws that apply to paying employees on the federal and state level. We start with defining the crucial elements of wage and hour law including what is work week, a work day and hours worked and how the hours must be tracked or accounted for.

From this basis we first discuss not only the rules for calculating overtime but the effects that other payments have on overtime including discretionary and nondiscretionary bonuses and commissions. We then work through examples of calculating overtime correctly using both the FLSA method and the alternate (or commonly understood) method as well as what to do if the employee is working at two or more rates. We discuss the minimum wage and how it can be different on the state or the federal level and what can be used as credit against it by the employer.

But federal law does not cover all aspects of paying employees. For this we need to concentrate on state laws in the areas of paid family leave, mandatory sick leave, meal and rest periods, paystubs and notices, how often employees must be paid, acceptable methods that may be used to pay employees, and handling terminating employees including vacation payouts. We conclude with our section on what can be legally deducted from the employee’s wages.