Human Resource Blog

Tennessee is one of 5 US states with no minimum wage. (The others are Mississippi, Alabama, Louisiana and South Carolina.) If you are an employer with more than $500,000 in revenue, you are covered under the federal minimum wage, which is currently $5.85 per hour. On July 24, 2008 the federal minimum wage will go up to $6.55 per hour.

There is no minimum wage for smaller employers in Tennessee. However, if you engage in interstate commerce — buying or selling products across state lines — then even small employers are covered under the federal minimum wage.  

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Employers should be aware that on January 1, 2008 the Arizona minimum wage was increased to $6.90 per hour.  The next increase will be on January 1, 2009 — but no one knows how much it will be yet. That’s because the Arizona minimum wage is adjusted annual based on the cost of living.

According to the AIC website: In accordance with Arizona’s Minimum Wage Initiative, the Arizona Industrial Commission is required to adjust the state’s minimum wage annually. The specific language of the initiative found in A.R.S. §23-363 (B) states, “The minimum wage shall be increased on January 1, 2008 and on January 1 of successive years by the increase in the cost of living. The increase in the cost of living shall be measured by the percentage increase as of August of the immediately preceding year over the level as of August of the previous year of the Consumer Price Index (All Urban Consumers, U.S. City, All Items) or its successor index as published by the Department of Labor or its successor agency, with the minimum wage increase rounded to the nearest five cents.

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According to the Industrial Commission of Arizona, employers are required to pay fired workers within 3 days. Workers who quit can be paid on the next regular payday. However, the employer is not required to pay workers for unused vacation time, under state or federal law. In some cases, if the employer has a written policy or a past practice of paying vacation, the courts might enforce it.

Read more about the ICA policies at: http://www.ica.state.az.us/minimumWage/index.html

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This complex issue is not addressed under Iowa law. Assuming that your company has revenue of more than $500,000 per  year, or does business across state lines (such as buying products from out-of-state-vendors) then the federal Fair Labor Standards Act would apply.

This is a complex issue under the FLSA. Normally, an employee driving a company vehicle from home to a job site is not entitled to payment for that time. However, an employee driving a company vehicle from the office to the job site (or back) usually must be paid for that time, especially if he is transporting passengers, tools or materials to or from the job site. A passenger who must help unload the truck when it arrives at the office must be compensated for the entire ride. However, if the passenger is being transported merely as a courtesy (for example, if his car is in the shop and he would ordinarily be free to drive his own car to the job site) then usually he is not entitled to payment for the time spent riding.

If the employees are required to stop by the office to receive assignments or instructions for the day before beginning work, or to pick up tools or materials, then usually they must all be paid for the travel time to the jobsite.

The good news is that the Wage and Hour Division of the US Department of Labor, which enforces this law, has an eLaws Advisor on this topic. This online questionnaire will walk you through the process to determine if this should be considered “hours worked.” It’s at http://www.dol.gov/elaws/esa/flsa/hoursworked/default.asp

It is fairly common for highly paid workers such as carpenters to be paid at a lower rate for driving. As long as they are paid at least the prevailing rate and/or minimum wage, it should not be a problem. It’s not entirely clear why this employer feels that such income is not taxable, and it’s not clear that the IRS would agree.

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You probably know the answer to this question, but we’re happy to confirm it. No, the employee is not entitled to payment for the “grandfathered” vacation days. He was specifically warned in writing that he would not be. Paying them to him will set a dangerous precedent that other employees are entitled to them, too. Companies have the right to change thier policies regarding PTO and vacation days, as long as they inform workers in advance, in writing. Your company certainly seems to have done that in this case.

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