labor lawAdivision of labor law center

The North Carolina minimum wage will increase on July 24, 2009. Many states in the country, including Texas, Oklahoma, South Dakota and Indiana, increase their minimum wage to coincide with the federal minimum wage. North Carolina is one of these states.

On July 24, 2009, the federal minimum wage will increase by 70 cents from $6.55 to $7.25.

In 2007, the North Carolina minimum wage was $6.15 per hour. State law, however, requires that if the federal minimum wage is higher, the state must raise its minimum to match the federal rate. So, on July 24, 2008, when the federal minimum rose from $5.85 to $6.55, North Carolina increased its minimum by 40 cents per hour to match the federal rate.

That means the North Carolina minimum wage will also increase on that date, rising by 70 cents per hour from $6.55 to $7.25 per hour.

Under North Carolina state law, employers must pay the majority of employees overtime (1.5 times the usual hourly rate) for any time worked in excess of 40 hours (more…)

The minimum wage for tipped employees in North Carolina has been reduced to $2.13  per hour, for now, despite the increase in the state and federal minimum wage on July 24, 2008.

On July 24, both the federal and North Carolina minimum wages increased to $6.55 per hour. However, employees who earn at least $30 per month in tips can be paid less.

Until recently, the minimum wage for tipped workers in North Carolina was (more…)

On July 24, 2008 the North Carolina minimum wage will increase 40 cents from $6.15 per hour to $6.55 per hour when the federal minimum wage increases. On that date, the federal minimum wage will increase 70 cents,  from $5.85 per hour to $6.55 per hour.

That’s because North Carolina is one of a host of states that ties the state minimum wage to the federal rate. In 2007, the North Carolina minimum wage was $6.15 per hour. However, under state law, if the federal minimum wage is higher, the North Carolina minimum wage automatically increases, as well.

On the same day, (more…)

An announcement from the US Department of Labor stated that the nation’s largest retailer, Wal-Mart Stores, Inc., will comply with federal and North Carolina minimum wage laws by paying in excess of $33 million in back wages. This agreement is the result of what the US Department of Labor maintains are violations of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) made by Wal-Mart.

Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. violated the Fair Labor Standards Act by not properly paying overtime to employees who worked over 40 hours a week. The FLSA maintains that employees are entitled to overtime by law. This overtime must be paid at the rate of 1.5 times the employee’s standard pay rate. This overtime amount must be paid for every hour the employee works over 40 in a single week.

The violations by Wal-Mart were caused by how the chain calculated overtime pay. Overtime is to be calculated using the usual hourly rate received by the employee. The usual rate of the employee is to include premiums and incentives as well as base pay.

For example, if the base pay rate for employees is $6.00 per hour, yet these employees receive incentives and premiums that normally bring this amount to $7.00, then overtime should be calculated using the $7.00 rate.  Wal-Mart miscalculated overtime pay for 86,680 employees during the time period from February 1, 2002 through January 19, 2007. For this reason, the retail giant will pay these employees $33 million in back wages.

Victoria A. Lipnic, Assistant Secretary of Labor for Employment Standards, explains, “This settlement provides $33 million in back wages, plus interest, to Wal-Mart workers, and the company has taken corrective action to prevent this from happening again.”

Not only is Wal-Mart paying back wages, they also have to pay interest on this money. The interest they pay is to prevent future transgressions and will act as a deterrent. 

Labor law investigators have caught up with a tree-trimming firm that paid at least 2,500 workers below minimum wage, and the company will have to pay nearly $2 million in back wages to about 2,500 employees.

The company, ABC Professional Tree Services of Houston, North Carolina, was found in violation of federal and North Carolina minimum wage laws. The amount it has greed to pay is $1,801,507.

U.S. Secretary of Labor Elaine L. Chao said the department would continue its push to see to it that employees get the proper pay. “We are pleased,” she added, “that we were able to help these workers get the back pay they deserve.”

Employees must get the minimum wage of $5.15 an hour for the first 40 hours, then be paid at time-and-a-half for any time after 40 hours. The Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) also requires that employers maintain proper records for time and payrolls.

The company is paying back wages to its North Carolina employees as well as to employees from Maryland, Virginia, Cincinnati, Maine, New York, Arkansas, Florida, Tennessee, Mississippi, New Jersey, Ohio, South Carolina, North Carolina, Georgia, and Louisiana.

Some of the work involved cleanup at the site of Hurricane Katrina. The company cleans up around power lines and at sites of natural disasters, including hurricanes. The investigation of the firm grew out of the creation of a task force in 2006 involving the Labor Department and U.S. Attorneys from several states. Their goal is to check for and prosecute firms that violate federal labor laws in the Gulf Coast region, specifically violations by employers in hurricane regions. Katrina and Hurricane Rita were included in those investigations. The investigation in this case began when Labor Department officials received a tip from an employee. They discovered the company had violated the minimum wage law in 16 states, as well as the Fair Labor Standards Act.