Recent reports have indicated employee overtime lawsuits were on the rise, but CNN just revealed how much – 400 percent since 2000. Last year, there were more than 7,000 claims filed by workers attempting to recover unpaid wages from employers. The news source points out that it isn’t just small businesses lacking human resources departments and payroll policies that are getting hit with the lawsuits.

Large corporations are taking the brunt of the hit. Take Walmart for example – the company was recently ordered to pay more than $4 million in back wages to employees.

Employers can protect themselves from expensive litigation (and embarrassing media) by learning about the two most common violations – misclassifying workers under an exemption for which they do not qualify and failing to pay employees for all of the time they spent performing job duties.

Businesses can resolve employee misclassifications before they become a problem by addressing the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) and reviewing the requirements for each exemption. If the language is confusing for employers, they can consult payroll professionals or HR teams to gain a clear understanding.

Time keeping issues can be resolved simply by investing in a new timeclock that will accurately track employee attendance and calculate the correct wages, whether they’re receiving straight time or premium pay for overtime.

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