You may find this hard to believe but I am about to use the words “S.E.C.” and “cool” in the same sentence. It’s true. The U.S. Securities & Exchange Commission has an interesting (read: cool) new online tool. It’s Executive Pay Finder allows you to search SEC filings to find out how much and in what form the nation’s top executives are being compensated. There are currently 500 companies included in the database. The SEC explains the tool:

This interactive tool is designed to illustrate some of the ways that interactive data can improve the quality and usability of executive compensation disclosure. It relies on interactive data tags that were applied by the Commission to the summary executive compensation disclosure in the public filings of 500 large companies for 2006.

The tool allows you to search for a specific company, by revenue, or even by industry. And that’s just the tip of the iceberg for its search capabilities. Once you find the company or companies that interest you, the tool actually gives you the capability to compile them into a single table for comparison purposes and then, you can even send your data to a Microsoft Excel Spreadsheet, create charts and graphs, Oh my!!!

For those of you who may be working on a compensation audit or getting ready to revamp your pay structure, this tool may provide some helpful insight. For the rest of us, it’s just plain interesting cool!

Wage and Hour laws, such as the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), present some of the most challenging hurdles for employers. The FLSA and its state and federal counterparts carry extraordinary penalties and, if an employee successfully brings suit to collect unpaid wages, employers are left holding the tab for the wage amount, multiplied twice, and the plaintiff’s attorney’s fees. This makes a claim for unpaid overtime a huge risk for employers and an even bigger attraction for plaintiffs’ lawyers.

So why don’t employers “just” abide by the laws and avoid these risks? Well, I suppose for a lot of reasons. One that we hear quite often is that, “everyone” in their industry pays this way!! And they’re likely telling the truth. Often industries develop certain wage payment practices especially suited for the unique way in which their employees work. Some companies, for example, are highly seasonal and tend to employ a great deal of teens during summer months. To avoid the paperwork nightmare for employee benefits, they pay the young people on a “per diem” rate.

Or, what about the salon industry? Stylists’ earnings are based partially on service-based commissions, partially on product-based commissions, as well as a flat hourly rate. But then, just to make it more complicated, many salons historically have required stylists to reimburse the business for the products that they use. Sort of like the typical office worker reimbursing their employers for each pencil they use to perform their jobs. As you can probably imagine, these unique pay arrangements can create major wage payment nightmares if the Department of Labor becomes involved.

And still, when an employer calls us to seek counsel on an employment matter and learns of the great perils of their payroll system, they just do not want to believe us. It is not uncommon for them to resist a payroll restructuring. In part because change can be difficult, time- and resource-consuming, and, well, just because the idea of change puts most of us on high alert, even if just temporarily.

But another, very common, reason for the push-back we get from otherwise loyal and trusting clients? “Because everybody pays like this!!” It can be difficult to change your payroll habits, certainly. But think of yourself as a trendsetter. Or, better yet, think of yourself laughing all the way to the bank as competitors get stuck with serious fines, penalties, and civil suits. Then call your employment counsel and have them conduct an audit of your compensation structure.

EXTRA: For those of you just dying to know more about overtime calculations, take a look at the Department of Labor’s handy Overtime Calculator. You answer a series of uncomplicated but unexpectedly detailed questions and, voila! The Calculator pops out the amount of overtime owed, if any, to the employee. It is a great tool (and free), thanks to Uncle Sam, so take advantage of it next time you’re pondering the world of wage payment.

The topic of off-duty conduct has been unavoidable recently.

First there was the wave of large companies who stopped hiring smokers or charged higher health care premiums to employees. Sure enough, this trend resulted in a lawsuit challenging the legality of making employment decisions based on what candidates and employees do outside of work. The conditional-employee sued Scotts when his conditional job offer was revoked when he tested positive for nicotine. (Scotts doesn’t hire smokers).

Next came a wave of talk about GINA, the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act, proposed to prohibit employers from basing employment decisions based on genetic information. It would also put limits on the amount of detail employer about an employee’s family medical history and other private data.

And don’t forget the internet! Employees who post on blogs, in chat rooms, or on social network sites like MySpace and FaceBook have a lot to stay. What are employers to do when their employees (current or former) are giving away trade secrets or other confidential information? And what about the bitter employee with lots of complaining to do and an unlimited audience ready to listen.

What’s next? Well, if you ask Governor Spitzer, he might have his own opinionson this topic. His “off-duty conduct” has resulted in his resignation and a great deal of commentary for morning news shows and late night comics alike. Some may argue that the difference between smoking and engaging prostitutes is legality. Smoking, at least for now, is a legal activity. You can pick up a pack of cigarettes at any corner convenience store. Not so with prostitutes. They can be picked up, true, but it is unlawful to do so. Yet, both activities will land you in a similar position–unemployed.

So where should employers draw the line? That’s a question for another day. Some critics claim that weight will be the “new tobacco.” Will employers, who face rapidly increasing health care costs, next turn to overweight employees and make them an offer they cannot refuse–lose weight or lose your job. Or will the same objective be attempted through higher health care premiums?

And will they charge by the pound?

Barry M. Willoughby, our Section Chair, commented on this issue last week in the Wilmington News Journal.