Most employees today don't punch a time clock; they generally work a set schedule, such as 9 am to 5 pm. Because these employees work a regular schedule, many employers don't bother to track their time (or require the employees to track their time). This means that each paycheck reflects pay for the time scheduled rather than the actual time worked. This is frequently the case with nonexempt employees who are paid on a salary basis. Paying non-exempt employees according to their scheduled work hours, as opposed to paying them for the actual hours worked, is a mistake that can easily lead to a lawsuit. Employers are required to keep track of, and pay employees for, the actual time worked.

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You have strong reason to suspect that an employee has engaged in serious misconduct, such as theft or sexual harassment. But you don't want to fire the employee based solely on suspicion. So instead, you place the employee on unpaid leave until you're able to complete your internal investigation. At the conclusion of the investigation, two weeks later, you find that your original suspicions were well founded. You let the employee go, paying out all eared wages and benefits at the time of termination. The employee then files a claim for waiting time penalties—and wins. What went wrong?

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Be sure to keep your eyes out for our January Legal Update Ezine with information on changes and proposed changes to employment law for 2010 and 2011.