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The Des Moines Register is reporting that local class action lawsuit against Casey's General Stores goes to a federal judge for approval of a settlement entered into with the parties.  Casey's would agree to pay $12.1 million for employees who were required to work off-the-clock, including cooks and assistant managers.

This case continues to remind employers that requiring non-exempt employees to work overtime needs to be properly compensated.  In fact, the argument has been successfully made in situations where the employer did not even authorize the overtime, yet still was required to pay overtime.

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Today President Obama announced a plan that will encourage unemployed workers to enroll in educational and retraining programs.  The President's plan encourages states to update their unemployment compensation rules so that unemployed workers taking advantage of the program do not lose their unemployment compensation benefits.  Iowa's current unemployment compensation scheme has such a speed-bump.

Under Iowa Code § 96.4 an unemployed individual is eligible for unemployment compensation benefits if the individual is "able to work, is available for work, and is earnestly and actively seeking work."  The Iowa Administrative Code state that full-time students "devoting the major portion of their time and effort to their studies are not "available" for work as required by the Iowa Code unless they are "available to the same degree and to the same extent as they accrued wage credits."  Thus, they are ineligible to receive unemployment benefits.  Exceptions include an indivdual in training with the approval of the director and training approved under 19 U.S.C. § 2296(a), the Trade Act of 1974, Relief from Injury Caused by Import Competition.

President Obama's plan only "strongly encourages" states to alter ther current rules.  With Iowa's unemployment rate still approximately 3.3% below the national rate, (according to March 2009 rates) I don't anticipate many changes in Iowa's rules in the near future.

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In the wake of tough economic times, many companies are exploring alternative cost cutting methods.  One method is requiring employee furloughs.  Employers are using required furloughs rather than terminations as a cost-cutting measure.  If you are thinking about using a furlough at your company remember the following rules regarding non-exempt and exempt employees:

·         Non-exempt employees must be paid only for actual hours worked.  An employer may send non-exempt employees home as a cost-cutting measure without worrying much about the legal problems.  You will need to review any contracts, including collective bargaining agreements, your company may have with non-exempt employees before implementing a furlough to ensure that you are not violating any of the provisions contained within the agreement.

·         Exempt employees must receive full salary for any week in which work is performed, without regard to the number of days or hours worked.  If any exempt employee does not receive full salary for every workweek in which the employee performs any work, exempt status is lost and the employee is entitled to overtime pay.  In general, furloughs for exempt employees should be scheduled in full workweek increments to protect an employee’s exempt status.

These should be considered general rules.  If you have specific questions about implementing a furlough plan please contact your attorney.

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With massive layoffs happening daily, even in Iowa (e.g. Microsoft, Electrolux, Meredith) it’s important to know your rights during a mass layoff or closing under Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act (WARN).

What is WARN? WARN is a federal law which offers protection to employees by requiring employers to provide written notice 60 days in advance of covered plant closings and covered mass layoffs.

Is my employer covered by WARN?  Businesses with at least 100 full-time employees or a combination of at least 100 part-time and full-time employees who work a total of 4000 hours per week are covered by WARN.

What is a “mass layoff” or “plant closing”?  A mass layoff or plant closing occurs when:

·         at least 50 employees are laid off during a 30-day period, if the laid-off employees made up at least one-third of the workforce

·         500 employees are laid off during a 30-day period, no matter how large the workforce; or

·         an entire work site is closed down and at least 50 employees are laid off during a 30-day period.

What happens if WARN is violated?  If a business violates the WARN Act  the business is liable to each aggrieved employee for an amount including back pay and benefits for the period of violation, up to 60 days.

It is important to contact your attorney to discuss your specific situation if you feel your employer has violated the WARN act.

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The Iowa Legislature has a number of bills it will be considering this session. Although some bills may die in committee it’s interesting to see what is being considered. Below are the bills and study bills that are currently in the House Labor Committee and Senate Labor & Business Relations Committee. You can see the full text of the bills on the committee websites. 

Senate Labor & Business Relations Committee:

House Labor Committee:

I will be tracking these bills throughout the legislative session and provide updates periodically.

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