The Library

Prior to issuance of the new overtime regulations, salary deductions often led to “class action” claims where otherwise exempt employees claimed to have been converted to non-exempt workers arguing that the “deductions” meant they were not paid on a “salaried basis.”  The new DOL regulations provide businesses the ability to limit such class actions if a new “safe harbor” is adopted. Even under the new overtime rules, it continues to be improper for an employer to make “partial day” deductions from a salaried exempt employee’s wages because they are late reporting to work, miss work to attend a parent/teacher conference, […]

The Blue Ridge Business Journal named Jim Hale as one of its 2004 “20 Under 40” recipients for his commitment to his profession and community. Excerpt taken from Blue Ridge Business Journal, Vol. 16, No. 17, August 23, 2004. Jim Hale             Age:  38             Business:  Gentry Locke Rakes & Moore             Location:  Roanoke             Type of Business:  Law firm.             Title:  Partner             Background:  Family is originally from Narrows; grew up in Lancaster County, Pa. and in Belgium.             Father was with New Holland Farm Machinery.  Parents back in Narrows on farm that has been in the family since […]

By Todd A. Leeson   It has been an eventful summer for labor unions.  As we approach Labor Day, this article summarizes several recent developments involving unions.    AFL-CIO Aggressively Supports John Kerry for President    As you probably know, the AFL-CIO and its affiliated unions have been spending millions of dollars in their high-profile support of John Kerry.  According to AFL-CIO President John Sweeney, the “labor movement has never been more united or working harder for a presidential candidate.”  If President Bush is reelected, it will be another defeat for the AFL-CIO.  (Indeed, the AFL-CIO is being criticized by several competing union […]

In June, the National Labor Relations Board (“NLRB” or the “Board”) overruled its controversial 2000 decision in Epilepsy Foundation and concluded that employees in non-union workplaces are not entitled to request that a co-worker or other representative be present at an investigatory interview conducted by his employer.  As will be further explained below, the so-called Weingarten “right to representation” has traditionally been available to employees in a union setting.  In its 2000 Epilepsy Foundation decision, however, the Board, in a surprising decision, extended “Weingarten rights” to non-union employees.  Last month, in IBM Corporation, 341 N.L.R.B. No. 148 (June 9, 2004), […]

“First Strings”, The Roanoke Times, Friday, July 2, 2004

K. Brett Marston, partner and co-chair of the construction practice of Gentry Locke Rakes & Moore, has been selected the 2004 recipient of the R. Edwin Burnette, Jr., Young Lawyer of the Year Award from the Virginia State Bar.  Marston received the award at the 66th Annual Meeting of the Virginia State Bar held June 17 through 20 in Virginia Beach. The award was established in 1994 and is named after R. Edwin Burnette, Jr., a General District Court judge and past-president of the Virginia State Bar.  It is given annually to the young Virginia attorney who best represents the […]

Fatter Paychecks for Many Who Work OvertimeBankrate.com, published May 26, 2004

Alfred B. Robinson, Jr. was the special guest speaker at the seminar on May 17, 2004 regarding the new overtime regulations sponsored by Gentry Locke Rakes & Moore and The Roanoke Regional Chamber of Commerce.  Three days later, Mr. Robinson testified in Congress on behalf of the Bush Administration as to the new overtime rules.  On June 2, 2004, the Secretary of Labor Elaine L. Chao announced that Al Robinson was promoted to the position of Acting Administrator of the DOL’s Wage and Hour Division effective June 14, 2004.  The new overtime regulations will take effect August 23, 2004.  For more […]

Seminar Teaches Administrators Ins and Outs of New Overtime Rules By Jenny Kincaid, The Roanoke Times May 18, 2004 The meeting resembled a problem-solving session in seventh-grade math class. The problem: Terri works at a convenience store. She takes on some manager’s duties, such as paperwork and hiring. But 75 percent of her duties are basic, such as cooking hamburgers and serving ice cream. Should she be paid by the hour or by salary? Local human resource directors, business executives and others scratched their heads over that question and others Monday. During a seminar at the Hotel Roanoke & Conference […]