Higher Education staff in the United Kingdom (UK) work long hours to complete their duties. In a 2021 survey, staff reported a weekly average of 51 hours: a fact well understood to undermine health and educational quality. Yet, UK law sets a maximum working week of 48 hours, and failure to uphold this maximum is a criminal offence for employers.…

The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) enforces the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), which is the law that sets federal minimum wage and overtime pay requirements. The FLSA specifies that for an employee to be considered exempt from overtime pay requirements as a "white-collar" worker, the employee must: (1) be paid on a salary basis; (2) be…

The price tag on a college education is higher than ever--but not having a degree is even more costly, according to recent studies. However, for lower-income students, getting to a college degree isn't so simple. Student financial need after grant aid (commonly referred to as "unmet need") averages $6,000 for students, even at…

The Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) Final Overtime Rule has substantially increased the salary threshold for exemption from overtime pay. The effect of the Final Rule will be felt by colleges and universities nationwide; many employees will now be eligible for overtime pay unless their salaries are brought in line with the new $47,476 minimum…

The 20th-century office is dead. According to "Telework Trendlines 2009," WorldatWork's new survey of more than 1,000 U.S. adults, the number of Americans working remotely at least once a month jumped 39%, from 12.4 million in 2006 to 17.2 million in 2008. Last year Congress even introduced bills that would encourage and expand telework programs…

How do IT managers protect their staff from working excessively long hours? To begin addressing the problem of overworked staff, IT managers should educate themselves about legal regulations governing time spent at work. Failure to meet such requirements can expose a university to potentially expensive and embarrassing lawsuits. In this article,…

This case study uses a feminist framework to examine the 7-year process by which the Federal Alternative Work Schedules Act (1978-1985) became law and the reasons for reenergized implementation in the 1990s. We analyze the legislative discourse for rationale in support of and opposition to this policy, connect findings to current flexible work…

With the possible exception of No Child Left Behind, no federal law has posed a greater compliance challenge to public school districts in the past ten years than the Fair Labor Standards Act. Unfamiliarity with the Act and its application in the school environment has resulted in millions of dollars in payment of settlements to school district…