Alaska Employment Law

The materials from Friday’s half-day CLE are here (warning: 320 pages).

Points not included in the materials include:

1)  Contrary to common belief, payment of a $30,000 salary won’t meet the requirements for a white-collar exemption under the Alaska Wage and Hour Act.  The minimum salary currently must be $30,160 ($7.25/hr. x 2 x 40 hrs x 52).  Come January 1, 2010, when the state minimum wage rises to $7.75/hr., the minimum salary for white-collar exempt employees will be $32,240.

2) The AW&HA doesn’t recognize the highly-compensated employee exemption from the FLSA - 29 CFR 541.601.

3)  Deductions from wages must leave intact not only the state minimum wage, but also the employee’s overtime compensation (calculated at the contractual, not the statutory rate).  Thus, if an employer wishes to deduct something from the wages of a $10.00/hr.  employee who’s due $550 in one week, composed of $400 for 40 straight hours and $150 for 10 overtime hours, the employer may not touch either $290 from the straight wages (40 x $7.25) or the $150.  Only the remaining $110 is available for a deduction, and then only if the employer complies with the rules regarding voluntary consent to deductions.  See 8 AAC 15.160.

4)  Rutti v. Lojack Corporation, Inc. is now published at 578 F.3d 1084 (9th Cir. 2009).  The Employee Commuting Flexibility Act is found at 29 USC 254(a)(2).

Many thanks to the presenters for a fine CLE.