From sick leave to overtime issues, how can employers avoid legal repercussions?

Q           Are we allowed to limit employees’ use of paid sick leave to the number of hours they’re scheduled to work on a given day, such as no more than six hours of paid leave for a part-time employee scheduled to work a six-hour shift?

Mississippi doesn’t have a law requiring paid sick leave, so you’re free to provide and set limitations as you see fit, including limiting employees’ use of paid sick leave to six hours on a given workday. It’s recommended that you specifically set forth the paid sick leave policy, including limitations, in writing, such as in your employee handbook.

Q          A nonexempt employee hasn’t been paid correctly for overtime, and we discovered we’ve been noncompliant with overtime pay requirements for a number of nonexempt employees. How can we correct internal underpayments properly, and are there legal risks in proactively remediating the issue that could expose us to penalties?

Mississippi doesn’t have its own wage and hour law, but the state is required to follow the federal Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) with regard to overtime pay. If the overtime pay issue arises under the FLSA, correcting the issue will certainly bring it to the attention of the affected employees, who may seek legal counsel or reach out to the Department of Labor (DOL) to determine what rights they have.