A company headquartered in California had several employees based in other locations. Three of those employees sued, claiming they were owed overtime based on California state law.

California OT law differs from the federal rules in that employees earn:

• time and a half for any time they work beyond eight hours in a day or for time spent working a seventh consecutive day, and
• double their regular pay for any time beyond 12 hours in a day or after eight hours on the seventh consecutive day of work.

The three nonexempt employees worked in locations outside the state, but traveled to California anywhere from five to 36 days each year. During that time, they claimed, they should’ve been paid OT in accordance with California’s strict standards.

The court agreed. Work performed in California is subject to that state’s rules and regs, regardless of where the employees live or normally work.

Cite: Sullivan v. Oracle Corp.

The federal government has no law guaranteeing workers time off to go to the polls. But many states do. In most cases, employees are only given time off when they don’t have enough time before or after their shifts.

Also, several states specify that employees need to request time off in advance.

Here are some examples of the varying regulations:

Arizona — Work hours must be scheduled so employees have at least three consecutive hours before or after their shifts to vote.

Alabama — Employees get two hours off if they start work less than two hours after the polls open or leave less than an hour before they close.

New York – If workers don’t have four hours in the morning or evening to vote, they must be given time off. Time taken up to two hours must be paid.

Minnesota – Employees who can vote are allowed to be absent during the morning of the election. The time off must be paid.

Washington – Workers must have two free hours for voting, not including rest or meal breaks.

Wyoming – Employees can take an hour of paid time in between the opening and closing of the polls.

Those are just a few examples. The laws vary widely, so companies should check the laws in their own states, as well as local regulations.

Last year, San Fransisco passed an ordinance requiring all employers in the city to offer paid sick leave. No other governments have followed suit, but plenty are trying. The Connecticut Legislature recently debated a paid sick day bill, and a group in Ohio is trying to get a similar measure on the ballot in November.

On the federal level, the Healthy Families Act has been kicked around Congress for a while without being passed.

It’s rare to see an employer that doesn’t offer paid sick days. But that doesn’t mean these bills won’t cause problems if they’re passed. For example:

• PTO conflicts — Employers would no longer be able to offer leave in a singular paid time off (PTO) bank, since they’d have to track sick time separately. Or, they’d have to offer the mandated sick days on top of the existing PTO bank.
• Tracking issues — The bills each have a unique system for figuring out how much time people get (in Connecticut, it’d be one hour of leave for every 40 hours worked). Employers with different accrual methods would have to change.
• Part-timers — Some of the bills cover all employees — including temps and part-timers. Forced leave for those employees would burden a lot of small companies.

Hopefully, the problems will be corrected before the proposals are passed. We’ll keep you posted as the legislatures battle it out.