Labor Dispute Resolution

What is the Fair Labor Standards Act?

The Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) is a United States Federal law that was enacted in 1938. Amendments have been made to this law since it was passed. It establishes minimum wage, overtime pay, recordkeeping, and child labor standards affecting full-time and part-time workers in the private sector and in Federal, State, and local governments.

Who is Covered by the FLSA?

Employees can be covered by the FLSA in two ways: enterprise coverage or individual coverage.

Enterprise Coverage

The FLSA covers those employees who work for companies or organizations having two or more employees and doing at least $500,000 a year in business, or hospitals, businesses providing medical or nursing care for residents, schools and preschools, and government agencies.

Individual Coverage

The FLSA also protects employees if their work regularly involves them in commerce between states ("interstate commerce"). This can include producing goods to be shipped out of state, regularly making telephone calls to persons located in other states, handling records of interstate transactions, traveling to other states for their jobs, and doing janitorial work in buildings where goods are produced for shipment outside the state. The FLSA also covers domestic service workers.

The FLSA and Minimum Wage

Effective July 24, 2007, the minimum wage is $5.85 per hour; as of July 24, 2008 it will be $6.55 per hour and on July 24, 2009 it will jump to $7.25 per hour. Some states have set their own minimum wage, in which case, an employer must pay a worker the higher of the two - Federal or state minimum wage.

The FLSA and Overtime Pay

Employers must give overtime pay to most employees who work over 40 hours per week. They must calculate overtime pay at a rate not less than time and one-half their regular rates of pay. The Act does not require overtime pay for work on Saturdays, Sundays, holidays, or regular days of rest.

The FLSA and Recordkeeping

Employers are required to keep certain records for each worker. The records must contain the following information:

• Employee's full name and social security number.
• Address, including zip code.
• Birth date, if younger than 19.
• Sex and occupation.
• Time and day of week when employee's workweek begins.
• Hours worked each day.
• Total hours worked each workweek.
• Basis on which employee's wages are paid (i.e., amount per hour, amount per week, amount per item produced)
• Regular hourly pay rate.
• Total daily or weekly straight-time earnings.
• Total overtime earnings for the workweek.
• All additions to or deductions from the employee's wages.
• Total wages paid each pay period.
• Date of payment and the pay period covered by the payment.

The FLSA and Child Labor Standards

More Details on the FLSA