Class action lawsuits now outnumber all other employment-based class actions combined, according to a recent study by ELT, a compliance consulting and training organization that recently surveyed 1,800 human resource specialists and senior level managers.

More than one-third of the participating companies reported facing claims based on wage-and-hour disputes in 2010. As a result, more than half of all those surveyed said they were increasing their efforts (and budgets) to comply with prevailing wage laws based on the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA).

Much of the increased claims activity can be attributed to a newly invigorated Department of Labor (DOL), which has been on an investigator hiring spree to combat what the agency calls "wage theft," and to the easy mark that many companies pose due to insufficient or inefficient bookkeeping, along with sometimes outright ignorance of or disregard for overtime laws.

Employers, don’t get caught up in wage-and-hour hassles, much less legal entanglements. Be sure to comply with FLSA minimum wage and overtime laws. Get your copy today of Personnel Concepts’ FLSA Overtime Rules Compliance Kit and keep both the DOL investigators and employee claims at bay.