Research
Start here when you want to understand a wage-and-hour issue more deeply. Each research piece explains the issue, why it matters for employers, and which sources support the answer. Every claim is fact-checked.
Buddy Punching and Time Clock Fraud: How Employers Can Detect It Safely
Research on buddy punching, biometric timeclock risk, Illinois BIPA, the 2024 BIPA amendment, and lower-risk detection options such as GPS, photo-on-punch, device checks, and pattern flags.
Holiday Pay Laws by State: What Employers Actually Owe
Federal law does not require holiday pay, and Rhode Island is the only state with a broad Sunday-and-holiday premium rule. The bigger payroll risk is an announced holiday bonus that changes overtime pay.
Lactation Break Laws by State: PUMP Act + State Accommodations
Primary-source research on the PUMP Act (29 USC §218d), the 10-day cure period, PWFA accommodations (29 CFR Part 1636), NY Labor §206-c, Minnesota, Georgia, Illinois paid breaks, Washington's 2027 paid rule, and the December 2025 rail and motorcoach activation.
Time Clock Rounding Rules: When Rounding Employee Time Becomes Risky
Primary-source research on federal time-clock rounding, California and Oregon restrictions, meal-period rounding, exact-time capture, raw-punch records, and the court cases employers should know before rounding employee hours.
Independent Contractor Classification by State: Federal Tests, State ABC Rules, and 1099 Risk
Research on when a 1099 contractor is really an employee, how federal tax and wage rules differ from state ABC tests, and why California, Massachusetts, and New Jersey create the biggest contractor-classification risk for employers.
Retro Pay vs Back Pay: How to Fix Past Payroll Mistakes
Primary-source research on retro pay, back pay, overtime recomputation, supplemental wage withholding, FLSA liquidated damages, California wage-statement exposure, and state penalty layers.
Final Paycheck Laws by State: Deadlines, Penalties, and Wage Components
Research for employers on final paycheck deadlines, same-day states, late-pay penalties, wage components, and remote-worker rules.
Overtime Laws by State: Federal Rules, Exemptions, 2024–2026
Federal overtime law (29 USC §207, §213 exemptions, 29 CFR Parts 541/778), the 2024 DOL vacatur, regular-rate mechanics, and state daily-OT overlays.
On-Call Pay Rules: When Standby Time Is Compensable
Primary-source research on 29 CFR §785.17 and §785.22, the engaged-to-wait vs waiting-to-be-engaged test, Skidmore v. Swift & Co. totality factors, Mendiola v. CPS Security, and the sleep-time deduction rules for 24-hour shifts.
Pay Transparency Laws by State: Which States Require Salary Range in Job Postings
Primary-source research on California SB 1162, the Colorado Equal Pay for Equal Work Act, New York Labor Law §194-b, the active and enacted pay-transparency statutes, city ordinances, and remote-posting rules.
Meal and Rest Break Laws by State: §226.7 Premium Pay, the Naranjo Cascade, and the 2026 Minnesota Mandate
Primary-source research on 29 CFR §785.18, California Labor Code §226.7, Naranjo v. Spectrum Security Services, Donohue v. AMN Services, the 14-state meal-period landscape, and the §203-stacking premium-pay cascade.
No Tax on Tips and Overtime: The OBBB §§224 and 225 Deductions, State Conformity, and W-2 Reporting
Primary-source research on IRC §§224 (tips) and 225 (overtime) enacted by OBBB §70401 (P.L. 119-21), the $12,500/$25,000 caps, T.D. 10044 final regulations, the FLSA §7 limitation, California SB 711 non-conformity, Colorado HB 25-1296 §225-only decoupling, and the 5-state FTI passthrough landscape.
Mileage and Expense Reimbursement Laws by State (2026)
Primary-source research on California Labor Code §2802, 820 ILCS 115/9.5, 454 CMR 27.04(4), the IRS 72.5¢/mile 2026 standard rate, the 29 CFR §531.35 kickback floor, and the post-pandemic remote-work reimbursement wave.
Predictive Scheduling and Fair Workweek Laws by State: Oregon SB 828, NYC Fair Workweek, and 11 Covered Jurisdictions
Primary-source research on Oregon SB 828, NYC Fair Workweek (Admin Code §20-1201), the SF Retail Workers Bill of Rights, the 14-day advance-notice window, predictability-pay schedules, and the 10-11 hour clopening rule across 11 covered jurisdictions.
Paid Sick Leave Laws by State: HWHFA, NY §196-b, Accrual Mechanics, and Major City Ordinances
Primary-source research on the absence of any federal paid sick leave mandate, California's Healthy Workplaces Healthy Families Act (Lab. Code §246), New York Labor Law §196-b, accrual-rate and carryover mechanics across the state and local patchwork, and major city ordinances.
Travel Time Pay: Portal-to-Portal Act, 29 CFR §§785.33–.41, California Morillion, and the December 2025 Villarino Decision
Primary-source research on 29 USC §254, the four federal travel categories at 29 CFR §§785.35–785.41, the 1996 ECFA written-agreement safe harbor, Morillion v. Royal Packing, Villarino v. Pacesetter, the continuous-workday doctrine, and the state-by-state landscape.
Paid Family and Medical Leave Laws by State: 13 Jurisdictions, the FMLA Floor, and the 2028 Maryland and Virginia Launches
Primary-source research on the 29 USC §§2601-2654 FMLA floor, the 13 jurisdictions paying PFML benefits in 2026, the Maryland and Virginia 2028 launches, the social-insurance funding model, and the multi-state employee allocation rules.
Off-the-Clock Work Laws by State: Portal-to-Portal Act, Frlekin, and the California Control Test
Primary-source research on FLSA §203(g) suffer-or-permit, the Portal-to-Portal Act (29 USC §254), Frlekin v. Apple, Troester v. Starbucks, Tyson Foods v. Bouaphakeo, and the California control-vs-federal-de-minimis split.
Recordkeeping Requirements: How Long to Keep Time and Payroll Records by State
Primary-source research on 29 CFR Part 516, the §516.7 72-hour retrievability rule, six-year retention in New York, New Jersey, and Hawaii, Anderson v. Mt. Clemens Pottery burden-shift, and the state-by-state retention landscape.
Vacation and PTO Payout Laws by State: Statutes, Wage-Act Treatment, and 2024–2026 Updates
Primary-source research on state vacation and PTO payout statutes — the vested-wages doctrine, the six mandatory-payout jurisdictions, policy-dependent states, the combined-PTO trap, and the 2024–2026 enforcement landscape.
Pay Stub (Wage Statement) Requirements by State
Source-anchored research on federal silence under the FLSA, California Labor Code §226, named cases (Magadia, Naranjo, Ward, Bluford), state-by-state pay statement rules, and the 2024 PAGA reform.
Related
Articles
The wage-and-hour rules explained for US employers, with every claim fact-checked.
Quick-read articles
Wage-and-hour questions answered for US employers, with every claim fact-checked.
Templates
Copyable time-tracking policies, checklists, and forms for small-business employers.
Tools
Free wage-and-hour calculators for US employers, with every claim fact-checked.
About Clockspot
Clockspot helps small businesses track employee time and keep payroll-ready records. Used in all 50 states since 2007, we focus on getting time and pay right — including the wage-and-hour rules that shape both.
Research is where we go deeper on the wage-and-hour issues behind our guides and tools. When a rule affects payroll, time tracking, or leave, we trace it to the issuing authority so employers can understand the issue and verify the source if they need to.