labor lawAdivision of labor law center

Like several other states in the U. S., Oklahoma ties its minimum wage to the federal minimum. Therefore, when the federal minimum wage increases from $6.55 to $7.25 per hour on July 24, 2009, Oklahoma’ s minimum wage will increase, too.

According to state law, the Oklahoma minimum wage increases when the federal minimum wage does. The Oklahoma statute doesn’t even contain a dollar amount, merely that the state adopts the federal minimum.

The Oklahoma minimum wage applies to companies with 10 or more employees at a single location.

In addition, according to the Oklahoma Department of Labor, the Oklahoma minimum wage applies to all employers with annual earnings over $100,000, regardless of the number of workers employed.

There are exceptions to the Oklahoma minimum wage law. For instance, employees in domestic service in private homes and volunteers in charitable and non-profit organizations are exempt. Others exempt from minimum wage include students under the age of 22, agricultural workers, newspaper carriers or vendors and feed store employees.

As with the federal minimum wage laws, salaried managers, most executives, outside salespeople and professional employees are exempt from Oklahoma state minimum law. For part-time employees, the exception applies only to those who work fewer than 25 hours per week.

In a little known exception to the Oklahoma state minimum wage law, employers with earnings less than $100,000 and fewer than 10 workers are legally permitted to pay employees as little as $2.00 per hour. Every worker over 18 years of age, however, must be paid at least $2.00 per hour.

Also excluded from the state minimum wage law are all employers who are covered by FLSA (Fair Labor Standards Act), which is the main federal minimum wage law. Under FLSA, employers earning at least $500,000 per year, or engage in interstate commerce fall under the federal minimum wage laws.

Overtime pay isn’t addressed by any Oklahoma state law. Instead, employees are covered under FLSA. This federal law mandates employees be paid 1.5 times the usual hourly rate when they work over 40 hours in one workweek.

How safe is an ATV?

That’s one question that has prompted a Texas OSHA Alert. With more and more ATVs being used for industry purposes rather than recreation, it is a question that needs addressing. Employers need to accept that if they do not provide adequate training on the use of ATVs, and do not have safety precautions in place, then serious injuries, or deaths can occur.

Even when used recreationally, the accident statistics do not make for good reading. According to a recent consumer Product Safety Commission report, fatalities relating to ATV accidents are rising. In 1982 the number was 29. By 2004, this number has risen to 470. The all time high for ATV related injuries are 136,100. The last ten years accounts for 800,000 of them.

However, use of ATVs in industry is becoming increasingly more widespread, in for example industries relating to agriculture.

It was a tragic accident in such an industry that resulted in the death of a female worker. She was using an ATV with a sprayer attached to the back, not realizing that this had the ability to destabilize the vehicle. When she began to drive the ATV and sprayer uphill, the vehicle’s front wheels came off the ground. She tried to compensate by shifting her weight, but the ATV rolled over. When she tried to jump clear, she was crushed under the vehicle, and died from her injuries.
It can be hard to understand how something that even children sometime use as a recreations vehicle can have cause such tragedy.

But workers and employers need to realize that they are not like ordinary cars or motor bikes. They handle much differently. If you add extra cargo or machinery, then the ATV can become unstable, sometimes with tragic results.
It may have been designed for recreational use, but an ATV needs the same respect as you would show any industrial machinery.  

Thanks to a ruling on group health insurance, South Dakota employee benefit plans will continue to include limits on coverage for mental health that equal those for medical and surgical procedures.

The ruling applies to what is known as the Mental Health Parity Act, or MHPA. As its name suggests, it declares that any employee group health plan in the nation must cover mental health treatment at levels equal to other kinds of medical treatment.

The law was recently extended through December 31 of 2007. The MHPA originally became law in 1996, but a so-called “sunset clause” was written into it, forcing its expiration on September 31 of 2001. But it has been extended five times by amendments since its creation. In excess of 150 million employees in the U.S. are covered by group health insurance packages, so the impact is wide-ranging.

The MHPA was a turning point. Until then, a health plan could put high limits on medical and surgical treatment, but much lower levels for coverage of mental health treatment issues.  While medical coverage limits might be at $100,000, mental health limits might be $10,000 or lower, sometimes as low as $5,000. Thanks to MHPA, that is illegal.

What is covered by mental health treatments? Typically, periods in drug and alcohol rehabilitation centers are included. Also covered are visits to a licensed therapist, a psychologist, or a psychiatrist, as well as stays in hospitals – mental health facilities or the mental health sections of medical hospitals for illnesses such as depression, schizophrenia, and post-traumatic stress disorder.

The Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) enforces the law covering group health plans. It was first called the Pension and Welfare Benefits Program. In January of 1986, it became the Pension and Welfare Benefits Administration. Finally, in 2003 it received its EBSA title when it received an upgrade to sub-cabinet level, overseen by an Assistant Secretary of Labor. Its responsibilities now include monitoring health care law violations as well as pension law. 

A two-year investigation recently revealed that a tree-trimming company had violated federal and Tennessee minimum wage laws. The investigation was triggered by a dissatisfied employee alerting the Dept. of Labor. This resulted in ABC Professional Tree Services being ordered to pay $1.8 million in overtime pay, to 2,501 employees.
The minimum wage by workers covered by the Fair Labor Standards Act is $5.15 per hour. This covers a basic 40 hour week. If an employee is required to work for more than 40 hours per week, they are then entitled to time-and-one-half for each hour over.

The investigation took place over two years, from August 2004 to August 2006. It was found that ABC Professional Tree Services had fallen foul to the federal Fair Labor Standards Act, as well as violating minimum wage laws throughout 16 states.

The company is currently paying a total of $1,801,507 to employees in Florida, Tennessee, Arkansas, Mississippi, Georgia, Louisiana, North Caroline, Tennessee, South Carolina, New Jersey, Cincinnati, Ohio, Virginia, Maryland and New Jersey, according to the US Dept of Law.

“We are pleased that we wee able to help these workers get the back pay they deserve,” Elaine L. Chao, the U.S. Secretary of Labor said. “The department will continue our efforts to ensure that employers are paying workers properly,” she went on to say.

ABC Professional Tree Services provides utilities with tree cutting and trimming services, clearing branches from around power lines. It also specializes in clear up operations after natural disasters. They were involved with clearing up after Hurricane Katrina, and a portion of the $1.8 million will go to workers in this area.

US Attorneys in various states cooperated with the US Dept of Labor in 2006, to investigate and bring to prosecution companies who violated employment laws in the Gulf Coast region. The task force concentrated on areas affected by Hurricane Katrina, Hurricane Rita and other hurricane affected areas.

Did you know that in 2006 thirty people were gravely injured due to mine related accidents?  These people were between the ages of 17 and 51.  Federal and states organizations, private agencies, individuals, and businesses are active associates in the “Stay Out – Stay Alive” campaign.

“Stay Out – Stay Alive” is a new public safety campaign that was created to inform workers about the safety risks involved in trespassing on mine property.  The Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) wants to warn workers, adults, teens and children that an accident on mine property could be fatal.

The campaign includes public service announcements to make people aware of the possibility of wandering on mine property without knowing it, while working or playing.  Another part of the program includes federal mine health and safety experts visiting schools, scouting groups and other clubs to talk to the youth about the hazards regarding playing on mine property.

Whether a mine is abandoned or not, and Tennessee worker safety could be jeopardized by their presence.  Several fatal accidents have happened over the years on mine property that involved children.  Among them, people just enjoying the outdoors and workers in other fields have also died.  More than 200 people, to give an estimate since 1999, have unfortunately lost their lives.  in mine-related accidents.

Specific dangers at mines are hidden shafts, poisonous insects and snakes, floods, and hazardous gases.  It can be difficult to spot a shaft because they are often covered with old boards that rot over time.  Even the light weight of a small child could cause the boards to collapse, injuring or killing the individual from a drop of up to hundreds of feet.

“Many of them contain hidden hazards and, for those not trained to work in mines, the outcome can be deadly. That’s why we urge workers, hikers, bikers, rock hounds and swimmers to “Stay Out — Stay Alive’” says Richard E. Stickler, the Assistant Secretary of Labor for Mine Safety and Health.  There are about 14,000 active mines in the United States, not to mention the half million abandoned ones.