I am a big fan of Countdown even though I have disagreed with some of Keith's comments in the past. I enjoyed last night's show but unfortunately it may have landed one of the subjects of Keith's "best persons" in a whole lot of hot water with the federal government. For those of you who missed it Keith included a company who's employees volunteered to work for the day to help keep the company up and running. And how they even made tips that day. Well unfortunately...
To posters: Please keep in mind I am writing this diary so that Keith can be aware of the error. He does not have a direct e-mail and I have no other way of reaching him. So please place tongue firmly in cheek before reading on...
the wage and hour laws of the United States do not allow employees to "volunteer" for their employers. If they work they must be paid. They cannot agree to work for nothing. They actually do not have that "right" under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). And failure to pay employees correctly can actually trigger an IRS audit since the taxes were not collected on the wages not paid. So the employer, as of today, is in hot water with the Department of Labor, Wage and Hour Division and the Internal Revenue Service. And to add insult to injury if the employees fail to report the tips received that is also failure to report taxable income.
The DOL must investigate any incidences of failure to pay employees that it becomes aware of by any means. So hearing it on the news or a news program should trigger an investigation.
And before posters start telling me that I am overreacting please be aware of one fact. The DOL has a mission statement it has to enforce. Though under Secretary Chao that enforcement was, shall we say, laxed. And it cannot allow a company to knowingly break the law. If that happens other companies can use this company as a precedent.
So Keith, I am sorry to say, that you really should have check with your legal department, or better yet, your payroll department, before running the story. And so for that you may have to add yourself to your own...
(insert KO voice over here...)Worst Persons In the World...