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Copyright 2026 J. J. Keller & Associate, Inc. For re-use options please contact copyright@jjkeller.com or call 800-558-5011.
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2026-08-24T05:00:00Z
NewsIn-Depth ArticleUSAHR ManagementEnglishAssociate Benefits & CompensationIndustry NewsWage and HourWage and HourHours WorkedHR GeneralistFair Labor Standards Act (FLSA)Non-Exempt employees OvertimeFocus AreaHuman Resources
What is the ‘regular rate of pay’ and why does it matter?
Under the federal Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), employers must pay nonexempt, “hourly” employees at least the federal minimum wage for all hours worked. They must also pay nonexempt employees overtime at not less than time and one-half the regular rate of pay for all hours worked over 40 hours in a workweek. The “regular rate of pay” is important in determining how much overtime an employee is paid.
Employers must base the amount of overtime pay due to an employee on an employee’s regular rate of pay and the number of hours worked in a workweek.
Even though employers may determine earnings on a piece-rate, salary, commission, or some other basis, in all such cases, employers must calculate overtime pay based on the average hourly rate resulting from such earnings.
Calculating the regular rate
Employers calculate the regular rate by dividing the total pay (except for the statutory exclusions) in any workweek by the total number of hours actually worked to determine the regular rate.
The formula for figuring out the regular rate is:
Total compensation in the workweek (except for statutory exclusions) ÷ Total hours worked in the workweek = regular rate for the workweek.
If, for example, an employee is paid $20 per hour and he worked 45 hours one week. The total straight time pay is $900. The overtime premium rate is $10 per hour. That means the additional overtime premium is $50, the full overtime rate (1.5x) is $30 per hour, and the gross pay is $950.
The regular rate of pay is based upon facts and may not be circumvented by an agreement.
The regular rate may also not be lower than the federal hourly minimum wage or a state or local minimum wage rate that’s higher than the federal rate.
If the regular rate is higher than the federal FLSA minimum wage, employers must calculate overtime using the higher regular rate.
One of the most common payroll mistakes is when employers multiply only the base wage by 1.5 when the legal overtime base is higher.
Excluded payments
The FLSA has an exhaustive list of types of payments that can be excluded from the regular rate of pay when calculating overtime compensation. Unless specifically noted, employers may not exclude payments from the regular rate nor credit them toward overtime compensation due.
FLSA excludable payments include such examples as:
- Gifts and payments, like gifts on special occasions
- Payments for occasional periods when no work is performed due to vacation, holidays, or illness; reimbursable business expenses; and other similar payments
- Some discretionary bonuses
- Profit-sharing plans
- Employer contributions to benefit plans
- Premium payments for non-FLSA overtime
- Stock options
Why this matters
The reason employers need to know how to calculate an employee’s regular rate of pay is that, if they do it wrong, it can end up costing them hundreds or thousands of dollars in back pay, damages, court fees, etc.
And if the errors happened to more than one employee, these figures could increase and also impact company branding and morale.
Key to remember: An employee’s overtime rate isn't just based on their base wage. The FLSA requires a “regular rate of pay.”
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2026-08-24T05:00:00Z
NewsWage and Hour Division (WHD), DOLIndustry NewsIndustry NewsAssociate Benefits & CompensationHR GeneralistFamily and Medical Leave Act (FMLA)Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA)HR ManagementEnglishFocus AreaHuman ResourcesUSA
FMLA leave for menopause-related symptoms
States have begun passing a new kind of employment law. Effective January 1, 2027, Illinois employees with menopause-related conditions will have workplace protections under the Illinois Human Rights Act (IHRA). Rhode Island started this trend when it became the first state to enact such a law in 2025.
According to a Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) survey, the percentage of employers offering menopause support or resources jumped from 18 percent last year to 27 percent this year. Such benefits include menopause-specific paid leave to help employees manage their condition. Menopause costs employers an estimated $1.8 billion in lost work time per year, according to a 2023 Mayo Clinic study.
All this might have employers wondering whether employees may take leave under the federal Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) for menopause-related symptoms.
The answer is YES, in some circumstances.
Is menopause an FMLA-qualifying condition?
The FMLA doesn’t have a list of conditions or symptoms that entitle eligible employees to FMLA leave. Employers must consider whether a condition meets the law’s definition of a serious health condition. That information can be gathered when employers ask for a certification supporting leave.
An FMLA serious health condition is an illness, injury, impairment, or physical or mental condition that involves inpatient care or continuing treatment by a health care provider.
Inpatient care generally refers to an overnight stay in a health care facility (like a hospital).
A menopause-related serious health condition involving continuing treatment can include the following:
- A period of incapacity of more than 3 consecutive, full calendar days, and any subsequent treatment.
- Any period of incapacity (or treatment for) a chronic serious health condition requiring treatment at least twice per year and continuing over an extended period of time. These may cause episodic rather than continuing periods of incapacity.
- A period of incapacity for a permanent or long-term condition in which treatment may not be effective.
- Any period of absence to receive multiple treatments or a condition that would likely result in a period of incapacity of more than 3 consecutive, full calendar days in the absence of treatment.
Given the wide variety of menopause symptoms and their severity, an employee who’s incapacitated by them would be entitled to take FMLA leave. Menopause isn’t a diagnosis, but a life stage. It could, however, lead to chronic conditions, such as anxiety or depression, hormonal therapy side effects, insomnia, mood swings, and cognitive changes, such as difficulty concentrating or memory lapses.
An employee may also take FMLA leave to care for a family member (such as a spouse) who’s suffering from menopause issues or is seeking medical treatment to curb the symptoms.
Key to remember: Employees aren’t automatically entitled to FMLA leave for menopause but can be if their symptoms are severe.
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2026-08-24T05:00:00Z
NewsIndustry NewsEnforcement and Audits - OSHAOSHA InspectionsEnforcement and Audits - OSHASafety & HealthConstruction SafetyGeneral Industry SafetyAgriculture SafetyMaritime SafetyFocus AreaIn-Depth ArticleEnglishOSHA Violations and PenaltiesUSA
Inspection wave sweeping through OSHA state plans: FY 2025 report
State-plan state enforcement continued to gain momentum in fiscal year (FY) 2025. In an upward trend, inspection numbers, violation counts, and penalty amounts all increased. This is in stark contrast to federal OSHA’s drop in inspections during the same period.
The latest data stem from the Occupational Safety and Health State Plan Association’s “Grassroots Worker Protection” report. The annual OSHSPA report covers the efforts and achievements of the state-plan states, which operate OSHA-approved programs in 29 states and territories. Of these:
- 22 cover private- and public-sector employers — Alaska, Arizona, California, Hawaii, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Mexico, North Carolina, Oregon, Puerto Rico, South Carolina, Tennessee, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, and Wyoming.
- 7 cover the public sector only — Connecticut, Illinois, Maine, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, and Virgin Islands.
Federal OSHA manages private-sector coverage in 33 states and territories, plus the District of Columbia. The federal agency recently posted its FY 2025 enforcement summary.
State inspection counts continued multiyear climb
State-plan agencies conducted nearly 38,400 inspections in FY 2025, a 4.2 percent hike over the more than 36,800 total in FY 2024, according to the Grassroots report. Compare this with FY 2023, and inspections were up 9.8 percent. Most inspections were categorized as safety inspections, and those saw a 4.9 percent jump in FY 2025. Health inspections also strengthened by 2 percent.
Programmed (or planned) inspections were the primary driver in state-plan inspection growth. State agencies conducted almost 15,900 programmed inspections in FY 2025, an 11.1 percent expansion from the prior year and a 21.7 percent spike from FY 2023.
Employee complaint inspections reached nearly 10,400 in FY 2025, but that was relatively flat, slipping 0.5 percent from FY 2024. Still, it’s just over 9.2 percent higher than FY 2023.
State-plan inspections exceeded federal OSHA totals
State and federal enforcement trends moved in opposite directions in FY 2025. While state-plan inspections approached 38,400, federal OSHA inspection counts declined to 30,273 in total. Federally, that figure was a 12.6 percent fall from FY 2024’s 34,625 inspections, or an 11.5 percent decrease from 34,221 in FY 2023.
Collectively, the states also outpaced federal OSHA for programmed inspections in FY 2025. Compare nearly 15,900 programmed inspections for these agencies to 13,962 for federal OSHA. Still, the overall percentage of programmed inspections balanced differently, with 41.4 percent for states and 46.1 percent for federal.
Violations rose steadily in states
Over 74,000 violations were found in FY 2025 for state plans, compared to more than 72,200 the previous year. That’s a 2.5 percent boost. About half were considered serious, willful, or repeat (S/W/R), while the other half were tagged other-than-serious (OTS). Both categories experienced an uptick that year.
The number of inspections with violations also expanded 2.9 percent (from about 23,840 to 24,520). At the same time, employers were cited less frequently on a percentage basis (63.9 percent of inspections in FY 2025 versus 64.7 percent the prior year).
State penalties set a new benchmark
Aggregate penalties in state-plans shot up 6.9 percent to almost $149.1 million in FY 2025. The multiyear trend is even more telling — total penalties escalated over 24.9 percent from FY 2023 to 2025. Both of these percentages outstrip the cumulative rate of inflation over the same period.
Where serious penalties were issued, penalty rates advanced 2.9 percent in FY 2025, to reach about $3,026 on average. This means the penalty rate has finally surpassed the $3,000 milestone. A serious violation relates to a substantial probability that death or serious physical harm could result, and the employer knew or should have known of the hazard.
Finally, employers contested citations in nearly 4,240 inspections with violations in FY 2025. The figure is almost unchanged from the previous year and represents 17.3 percent of inspections with violations. A proper contest suspends the employer’s legal obligation to abate and pay a penalty until the item contested has been resolved.
What’s next?
According to the federal OSHA budget proposal for FY 2027, the states are anticipated to conduct the following in FYs 2026 and 2027:
| Number of | FY 2026 expected | FY 2027 proposed |
| Safety inspections | 28,967 | 27,229 |
| Health inspections | 9,675 | 9,094 |
| Total inspections | 38,642 | 36,323 |
The projected dip in FY 2027 inspection activity is tied to OSHA’s proposed budget reduction. However, Congress has not yet finalized appropriations for FY 2027. Actual funding levels remain uncertain for that year. That means the number of inspections conducted could change.
Key to remember
The latest statistics on state-plan enforcement for FY 2025 are available. The data show that state inspection counts went up while federal OSHA inspections went down. State-plan violation counts and penalty amounts also grew. The figures suggest that state agencies remain a significant enforcement force.
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2026-08-23T05:00:00Z
NewsIndustry NewsHeat and Cold ExposureSafety & HealthConstruction SafetyGeneral Industry SafetyAgriculture SafetyExpert InsightsHeat and Cold ExposureEnglishHeat StressFocus AreaUSA
Expert Insights: Protecting Landscaping Crews from Heat Stress
In the “dog days” of summer there is one thing I never look forward to: yard work. Just yesterday, I spent about two hours cutting my grass in the muggy South Georgia heat. By the time I was finished, I was drenched in sweat, breathing heavy, and ready to find the nearest air conditioner. Now, that is just two hours a week. Imagine having to do that for eight hours every day.
For landscaping crews, these hazards are a daily battle during the summer months, and the statistics really highlight the risks. For the last ten years, an average of 197 landscaping workers died from work-related injuries each year, resulting in a fatality rate of about 25 deaths per 100,000 workers, similar to rates seen in agriculture and mining. Heat-related illnesses and injuries are a significant contributor to this risk. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), there were 33,890 heat-related cases involving days away from work between 2011 and 2020, averaging nearly 3,400 cases annually. OSHA also investigated 1,054 heat-related incidents between 2017 and 2022, including 625 hospitalizations and 211 fatalities.
Realities of heat exposure
Landscaping and grounds-keeping consistently rank among the most heat-exposed occupations, and the pressures that keep crews working through dangerous conditions are familiar to anyone in this industry:
- Piece-rate and schedule pressure - Many landscaping crews are paid by the job or the property, not the hour, which creates a built-in incentive to keep moving rather than stop for rest or water breaks.
- Lack of acclimatization - New or seasonal hires haven’t built up tolerance to prolonged heat exposure, yet formal acclimatization schedules are rare on small crews.
- Minimal shade and hydration infrastructure - A client’s front yard doesn’t come with a break room or a water cooler.
- PPE that traps heat - Long sleeves, gloves, and boots protect against cuts and debris but reduce the body’s ability to cool itself through sweat evaporation.
- A “push through it” culture - Much like fall protection on residential roofs, heat safety often gets treated as optional until someone feels dizzy or nauseous.
- Regulatory uncertainty - There is still no final federal heat standard. OSHA published its proposed rule in August 2024, and as of 2026 it remains pending. In the meantime, OSHA continues to cite heat hazards under the General Duty Clause, and OSHA updated its National Emphasis Program for Outdoor and Indoor Heat-Related Hazards on April 10, 2026, effective immediately and scheduled to remain in place for five years.
Cool down the risk
Two hours in the high-90s heat left me wiped out doing a task I chose to do and at my own pace. An eight-hour landscaping shift offers none of those luxuries unless an employer builds them deliberately. That means:
- Scheduled water, rest, and shade breaks. Not just breaks “if someone asks.”
- A real acclimatization plan for new hires and anyone returning from time off.
- Monitoring conditions throughout the day, since heat-related deaths are disproportionately common in the mid-afternoon, with over a third occurring between 2:00 and 4:00 p.m.
- Train crews and supervisors to recognize early signs of heat exhaustion in themselves and each other, since by the time symptoms of heat stroke appear, it’s already an emergency.
- Supervisors should know how to respond to a heat emergency, including calling 911 and moving the affected worker to a cooler area while waiting for emergency medical services.
None of this requires a complicated program. A cooler of water, shade or a pop-up canopy, and a supervisor willing to slow the pace when the heat index climbs go a long way toward keeping a crew safe.
I got to walk inside, crank the AC, and call it a day. Most landscaping crews don’t have that option until the job is done. With no final federal standard yet but enforcement activity clearly increasing, it’s worth remembering that heat-related illnesses can turn serious fast. A few minutes of planning can be the difference between a hot afternoon and a heat-related emergency.
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2026-08-21T05:00:00Z
NewsIndustry NewsEnglishEnvironmental Management SystemsSustainabilityIn-Depth ArticleEnvironmentalEMS Roles and ResponsibilitiesEnvironmental Management SystemsFocus AreaUSA
Maintenance and environmental compliance go hand in hand
Environmental compliance is often viewed as the responsibility of the environmental, health, and safety (EHS) department. In reality, many compliance successes and failures occur on the plant floor, in maintenance shops, and around equipment managed by maintenance personnel.
Maintenance employees regularly handle used oil, inspect tanks, repair air pollution control equipment, respond to spills, and maintain secondary containment systems. Their daily decisions can directly affect compliance with federal, state, and local environmental requirements. As facilities face increased scrutiny of air emissions, waste management, and spill prevention programs, coordination between environmental and maintenance personnel has become increasingly important. That is why one of the most valuable members of an environmental compliance team is often someone from maintenance.
Used oil management starts in the shop
Many maintenance departments generate used oil from equipment servicing, vehicle maintenance, and hydraulic system repairs. While used oil can often be managed under streamlined regulations, improper handling can quickly create compliance problems.
Common issues include storing used oil in unlabeled containers, mixing used oil with hazardous waste, or failing to address leaks from storage containers. Even small mistakes can increase disposal costs or change how the waste must be managed. Maintenance personnel can help reduce these risks by ensuring used oil containers remain closed when not in use, are properly labeled, and are routinely inspected for signs of leakage or deterioration.
Spill response depends on employees closest to the release
When a spill occurs, maintenance staff are often among the first employees on scene.
Their actions during the first few minutes can affect both environmental impacts and regulatory obligations. Quickly stopping the source of a release, protecting drains, and containing spilled material can prevent a minor incident from becoming a reportable event.
Facilities should ensure maintenance personnel understand spill response procedures, know where response equipment is located, and recognize when environmental staff or emergency responders must be notified.
Even facilities with formal spill response plans depend on maintenance employees to implement many of the initial response actions.
Air compliance requires reliable equipment
Many facilities rely on air pollution control devices such as baghouses, scrubbers, thermal oxidizers, or dust collection systems to comply with permit requirements.
Environmental managers may be responsible for reporting emissions and maintaining permit records, but maintenance staff are often responsible for keeping control equipment operating properly.
A failed pressure gauge, malfunctioning fan, broken duct connection, or neglected preventive maintenance task can affect emissions performance and potentially result in permit deviations.
Facilities should ensure maintenance programs include environmental control equipment and that maintenance personnel understand which equipment has environmental significance.
Tanks and containment need routine attention
Storage tanks and secondary containment systems are another area where maintenance and environmental responsibilities overlap.
Maintenance personnel may also maintain stormwater controls, drainage structures, and outdoor storage areas that affect permit compliance.
Routine inspections can identify corrosion, damaged coatings, leaking fittings, deteriorated hoses, and cracks before they become larger problems. These conditions may not seem urgent from an operational perspective, but they can increase the risk of releases and regulatory violations.
Facilities should establish inspection procedures, clearly define responsibilities, and document findings. A simple inspection program can often identify problems early, reducing both environmental risk and repair costs.
Communication helps prevent violations
Many environmental compliance issues occur when operational changes are made without considering environmental impacts.
New equipment, replacement tanks, process modifications, and maintenance projects can affect air emissions, waste generation, chemical storage, or spill prevention requirements. Environmental staff may not become aware of these changes until after installation.
Regular communication between maintenance and environmental personnel can help identify potential compliance concerns before work begins. In many cases, a short conversation during project planning can prevent significant compliance challenges later.
Building a partnership between maintenance and environmental teams
Environmental compliance is most effective when it is integrated into daily operations. Maintenance teams often have the best understanding of equipment conditions, storage systems, and operational changes occurring throughout a facility.
Environmental awareness training, maintenance involvement in inspections, and regular communication can strengthen compliance programs and identify problems sooner.
Environmental managers bring regulatory expertise. Maintenance personnel bring operational knowledge. Together, they create a stronger foundation for compliance than either group can achieve alone.
Key to remember: Environmental compliance is not solely an EHS responsibility. Maintenance staff play a critical role in preventing spills, managing used oil, maintaining compliance equipment, and identifying problems before they become violations.
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2026-08-21T05:00:00Z
NewsAccident Investigation Preparation and ResponseAccident Corrective and Preventative ActionsRisk Assessment and ManagementIn-Depth ArticleEnglishRisk Assessment and ManagementIndustry NewsAccident Investigation - OSHAAccident Investigation - OSHAFleet SafetySafety & HealthConstruction SafetyGeneral Industry SafetyAgriculture SafetyAccident responseFocus AreaTransportationUSA
We must learn from workplace fatalities: The numbers are striking!
Each year, hundreds of workers are killed by objects, vehicles, and equipment they never expected would become deadly. Could the same struck-by risks exist in your workplace?
My home state of Michigan is seeing the effects of these unidentified hazards and the numbers are striking. As of the end of July 2026, Michigan had its 26th worker fatality, meaning 26 families had to say goodbye to a parent, spouse, or sibling they cherished. Of these 26 fatalities, almost 62% were due to struck-by incidents.
What’s even more striking is that each of these losses was preventable. The good news? What one organization learns through tragedy, another can learn through awareness!
Hidden hazards, real consequence
| ACTIVITY | HAZARD | FATAL STRIKE | WORKER AGE |
| Manufacturing | Pneumatic (air) press | Lead production manager made initial adjustments to a press. During start-up of the production run, an air cylinder shaft broke and breached a guard, striking the employee on the head. | 53 |
| Construction | Factory beam | Co-owner was in a scissor lift disassembling beams when an unsecured beam twisted, tipping the scissor lift backward and causing the employee to strike their head on the ground. | 31 |
| Construction | Lifting mechanism | Owner was operating a pickup truck loaded with dirt. While raising a dump bed, the lifting mechanism failed, causing the bed to fall and struck the owner in the head. | 34 |
| Automotive | Dead tree | While attempting to recover a vehicle stuck in a wooded area, the strap used to secure the vehicle to a tree that caused the dead tree to fall, striking the technician. | 38 |
| Firefighting | Falling debris | Firefighter was struck by falling debris while fighting a residential fire. | 47 |
| Arboriculture | Falling tree branch | While sitting on a log, a branch from an adjacent tree fell and struck an arborist in the head. | 52 |
| Arboriculture | Falling tree branch | Tree branch fell when laborer was trimming trees, striking the employee in the head. | 50 |
| Transportation | Vehicle strike | Two maintenance workers were patching potholes along the right shoulder of the road when a passenger vehicle driver swerved and lost control, entering the work area and striking the employee. | 51 and 49 |
| Manufacturing | Die sets | While a die was being lowered by crane, the operator noticed the locating pin was in wrong position and began raising the die back up. Worker climbed off the bolster to locate the pin, the die caught another die, began swinging then pinned the victim between the two dies. | 34 |
| Transportation | Failed hydraulics | While performing hydraulic maintenance under the flatbed rollback, the hydraulics failed, crushing the tow truck driver. | 45 |
| Transportation | Vehicle strike | While assisting another driver, school bus driver was struck by a passing vehicle. | 45 |
| Automotive | Vehicle strike | Service technician was struck by a vehicle along the highway after one vehicle caused another vehicle to swerve. | 19 |
| Utilities | Falling tree branch | Supervisor was struck by a limb from a nearby tree while cutting tree limbs that had fallen onto a roadway due to high winds. | 43 |
| Construction | Excavator arm | When moving an excavator arm to help with reinstalling the pin, the While excavator cab and arm rotated pinning a laborer between the excavator arm and the loader bucket. | 53 |
What can we learn from Michigan?
- Struck-by hazards exist in every industry! Failing to assess a workplace for both existing and potential hazards, regardless of industry, can leave workers exposed to dangers that may not be obvious until an injury or fatality occurs.
- Workplace hazards do not discriminate based on title, age, or years of experience. Many workers are struck by falling, flying, swinging, or rolling objects while performing routine tasks. In fact, experience can sometimes create a false sense of security, increasing exposure to risk.
- Treat others’ near misses as your own and learn from them. Events where no one is injured often reveal the same conditions that could later lead to serious injuries or fatalities elsewhere if not controlled.
- Keep workers out of the line of fire by establishing clear exclusion zones around moving equipment, suspended loads, elevated work areas, and stored materials.
- Communicate – communicate – communicate! Clearly and consistently communicate to workers the different types of struck-by hazards and ways of recognizing changing conditions, blind spots, load movements, and overhead dangers.
Key to remember: Struck-by hazards often go unnoticed until a life is lost and the lessons become painfully clear. However, these tragedies offer valuable lessons that employers from across the country should view as a call to evaluate risks, reinforce safe practices, and prevent a preventable loss. The best time to identify a struck-by hazard is before it has the chance to strike!
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Copyright 2026 J. J. Keller & Associate, Inc. For re-use options please contact copyright@jjkeller.com or call 800-558-5011.