Ronald McDonald Houses have been providing housing to families of hospitalized children since 1974, but that doesn’t make them immune from employee lawsuits. A former employee of the Ronald McDonald House Charities of South Florida in Miami recently filed suit claiming that she was not paid overtime for working 70-hour weeks. Although she was hired as an assistant manager and classified as “exempt” from the overtime requirements of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), the former employee alleges that her duties were clerical in nature, thus qualifying her for overtime.
Nonprofit organizations, like other corporations, must comply with federal and state wage and hour laws. In a down economy, the number of wage and hour lawsuits goes up. Make sure that your nonprofit properly classifies all employees as either exempt or non-exempt from the FLSA to lower your chances of being dragged into costly litigation that detracts from your organization’s core mission.
For assistance, contact Pro Bono Partnership of Atlanta.
For the full story on the Ronald McDonald House lawsuit, click here.