Business Administration

Employers are stumped. How can they run efficient businesses and generate profits that investors and the street expect and not run afoul of wage and hour litigation? What is sometimes good practice in management can lead to claims of misclassification of nonexempt workers as exempt. Plaintiff awards in wage and hour litigation can be as much as ninety million dollars, as it was in Bell v. Farmer's Insurance Exchange. The challenge is to understand how well-conceived management practices, when taken to an extreme, may create an environment in which exempt employees turn themselves into non-...

This presentation, led by Dustin Maneethai, Cristina G. Banks, Christopher J. L. Cunningham, Leslie Hammer, and Alan Witt, introduces a multidisciplinary approach to addressing workplace challenges and improving worker well-being. The format is inspired by the historical concept of "The Salon," encouraging open, diverse discussions to expand knowledge and thinking.

Key points:

Just as medical personnel check a person’s vital signs for health and well-being, so can experts check the vital signs of a workplace. The human body’s vital signs such as temperature, blood pressure, heart rate, and various components of the blood, signal to medical personnel how a body is functioning in key aspects of life. What are the vital signs of a workplace that can suggest whether serious problems exist or the workplace is operating effectively in the manner desired? We propose a set of key elements of a workplace that can...