Wage-and-Hour Audits

When confronting a wage-and-hour audit by a regulatory agency, employers must act quickly to gather pertinent records, interview witnesses, and determine exposure. Cook Brown has extensive experience assisting employers in prevailing on these audits.. Additionally, the best way to be prepared for a wage-and-hour investigation is to review your company’s current practices. Employers must not only be aware of all federal and state requirements but have such information readily available. Cook Brown has experience providing proactive solutions and advising employers on the policies necessary to avoid the red flags that often trigger these enforcement actions, such as:

• Record-keeping and retention requirements — personnel files, wage records, medical privacy;
• Exempt status — review positions for proper classification and independent contractor status;
• Time Off Practices — vacation, sick leave, PTO, holidays, military leave, crime victims, and other leaves of absence;
• Pay practices for nonexempt employees — on-call pay, split shifts, travel time, bonus payments and shift differentials in overtime calculations, etc.; and
• Deductions of pay for salaried exempt employees.