The Fair Labor Standards Act: What It Means To You
The Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), enacted in 1938, is the federal law that governs minimum wages, maximum work hours, overtime pay, equal pay, and child labor standards. Its purpose is to protect employees from oppressive working hours and labor conditions and to ensure that American workers receive a fair day’s pay for a fair day’s work. The law applies to virtually all employers and their employees, except for those who are specifically exempt.
Generally, the FLSA applies to a variety of work issues, including:
- The minimum wage (currently $7.25/hour);
- Overtime pay for “non-exempt” employees, at the rate of one and a half times more than the employee’s regular hourly rate for time worked over 40 hours in a workweek;
- Accurate records of employees’ time worked and their compensation; and
- Timely payment of wages and overtime.
Regarding overtime pay, the FLSA requires that employers pay at the rate of one and a half times more than the employee’s regular hourly rate for time worked over 40 hours in a work week. Unfortunately, employers have abused the FLSA exemptions. For years, some employers would call employees exempt from the FLSA even though they weren’t. Just because you are paid a salary does not mean you are exempt. In order to be exempt, an employer has to prove that an employee is in a bona fide executive, administrative, professional or outside sales position. Each of these exemptions has rigorous requirements and tests, and it is the employer’s burden to prove that the exemption applies; otherwise, they must pay overtime.
Learn more about common FLSA violations.
