A trend has emerged where some celebrities, professional athletes or other high net worth individuals are asking to be paid at least part of his or her salary in cryptocurrency. The practice has trickled down to at least one company in Mesa that is paying employees in Bitcoin. What does this mean for the mainstream? Should or can Arizona employers start paying employees in cryptocurrency? Here are some considerations.
Right out of the gate, this form of payment would not work for the majority of employees. According to a recent CNBC report, 61% of American employees live paycheck to paycheck. Even well-compensated employees would likely need to be paid a portion, if not the majority of their paychecks in cash in order to pay expenses on an ongoing basis.
It also would not be advisable to pay employees only in cryptocurrency. That would exclude many potentially qualified applicants, among other issues described below. Even NFL quarterback Aaron Rodgers is only taking a part of his salary in Bitcoin.
If you are still interested, you need to be aware of wage and hour issues associated with cryptocurrency.
Wage and hour law considerations
At the federal level, employers in the public and private sectors need to comply with the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), which governs minimum wage, overtime pay and other wage-related issues. Relevant here, the FLSA requires payments of the prescribed wages including minimum wage and overtime compensation, in cash or negotiable instrument...
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