FLSA Research Paper

damages or orders to do or not to do something. Criminal actions have jail time as potential

The Fair Labor Standards Act has been amended many times and is virtually an ever-changing law, however, it does not cover all employees. There are several classes of “exempt” employees, including salaried employees in the executive/managerial, administrative, and professional areas. Outside salespeople are also considered exempt. One of the issues facing companies today is knowing which employees are exempt and which are non-exempt. There are tests to determine if an employee is exempt. In 2004 the tests changed to a standard test, which is whether or not the employee’s salary is $455/week or greater and the duties test, which allows for exempt status if more than 50% of the work performed by an individual is “exempt work.” (Pass and Broadwater) Exempt employees do not receive overtime pay, which can be a substantial cost savings to a company. My previous employer required that an exempt manager close the center each night even though we had non-exempt team leads who acted as managers in most capacities. The reason was to avoid overtime costs.

For centuries, there has been a common relationship between employers and employees. Over the course of that time, the workplace and the jobs within it have evolved as new jobs were created, ways to execute tasks became more advanced and laws were enacted to put into place fair employment for those in the workforce. In 1938, congress would pass and President Roosevelt would sign the Wages and Hours Bill, more commonly known as the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 (FLSA). This federal statute introduced a 44 hour, seven day work week, established the national minimum wage, guaranteed overtime pay in specific types of jobs at a rate of “time and a half”, and it defines oppressive child labor, which prohibits most employment of minors. The FLSA applies to those employees engaged in interstate commerce or in the production of goods for commerce, unless the employer can claim an exemption from coverage.

Concerning the wage rate, the United States government has intervened to maintain a lower limit on the hourly wage rate of a worker’s labor by implementing a price floor known as the minimum wage rate. This legal floor on the market price of labor sets a minimum hourly pay rate for workers in the United States. Effective July 24, 2009 the federal minimum wage rate is $7.25; in states that also have minimum wage laws the employee may be subject to both federal and state minimum wage laws, in which case they are entitled to the higher minimum wage rate (U.S. Department of Labor Wage and Hour Division, 2011). Since the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) was created in 1938 the federal minimum wage rate has gradually increased from $0.25 in 1938 to $7.25 present (U.S. Department of Labor Wage and Hour Division, 2011). Although continuing to increase the minimum wage rate may include potential positive factors, it would hinder the U.S. economy overall.

The consequences for not complying with the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act will be dealt with the Department of Labor (USERRA, 2016). If found guilty, the company would compensate the victim with court fees and compensate for any loss wages and benefits. Once again, the company would also loss income and revenue and the trust of their employee for unfair treatment.

How will the new FLSA laws affect you? If you are making $47,476 a year or less, the new FLSA laws require your employer to pay you overtime after you work over forty hours in a week. If you are making over $47,476 a year you will not be paid overtime because your are considered overtime exempt. Being overtime exempt means you make enough money for your employer to legally not pay you overtime.

By 1938 the Fair Labor Standard Act was probably one of the strongest change makers that were produced due to the fire – by establishing minimum wage, overtime pay, record keeping and youth employment standards affecting full time and part-time workers in the separate region and in federal, state and local governments. FLSA also set wages at the same rate and paid women for overtime as well prevented child labor until the age of 16 and older with limited working hours and jobs that children can work.

The minimum wage is the mandated price floor paid on hourly or daily basis for the employees regulated by the government or the union. In “Federal Minimum Wage”, New Zealand and Australia enacted the first minimum wage law during the late 19th century to prevent employers’ exploitation of workers. In 1912, Massachusetts passed the first minimum wage legislation in the US that was enforced for women and children, and fifteen more states followed in the next eleven years. However, the Supreme Court abolished the minimum wage laws in 1923 because the laws violated the women and employers’ Fifth Amendment or their right to negotiate a binding agreement without government interference. In the US, the first federal minimum wage law passed 25 cents per hour as part of President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) to help struggling workers during the Great Depression (“Federal Minimum Wage”). Since 1938, the minimum wage law has increased twenty-two times to $7.25 to keep pace with inflation. However, minimum wage laws have exemptions in some field of works such as tipped employee who earns $2.13 an hour in direct wages if the amount plus the tips received is at least the mandated minimum wage. In addition, agricultural workers earn their salaries by the number of bags or weight multiplied by the crops’ selling price (“Minimum Wage and Overtime Basics”).

On Saturday, June 25, 1938, President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed 121 bills. Among these bills was a landmark law in the United States’ social and economic development—Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 (FLSA) or otherwise known as the Wages and Hours Bill. This new law created a maximum forty-four hour workweek, guaranteed “time-and-a-half” for overtime hours in certain jobs, banned oppressive child labor, and established the nation’s first minimum wage. By definition, a minimum wage is the lowest wage permitted by law or by a special agreement (such as one with a labor union). Throughout the years, the minimum wage has been a central debate topic for the socioeconomic world and now in 2014, the debate has broken through the surface once

On June 5, 2016 I was forced to work an overtime event when Joyce and Vicki Hoak with less seniority purposely took a vacation day the Friday before the event. Once again on Nov. 15 ,2016 I was mandated to work overtime 7:00 am. to 3:30 pm even though Cliff Worthy, Vicki Hoak have less seniority and with Joyce being excluded from all Saturday overtime due to her schedule work day. However, when Danny Kelly and Harry Feals worked Joyce’s routine they were mandated to work Saturday overtime. In both incidents I filed an oral grievance with Scott union steward and talked to Joe director of Maintenance.

The United States has a plethora of labor laws in place to help clarify the rights of workers, employers, and even labor unions. Federal laws, such as the Fair Labor Standards Act, the National Labor Relations Act, the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Occupational Safety and Health Act helped form the working standards that we still use in today’s society. In the scope of minimum wage policy, The Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) helped pioneer the labor force in the US. The FLSA was the first federal statute (that was successfully passed) to introduce the forty-hour workweek, "time-and-a-half" for overtime work, the regulation of child labor, and set a national minimum wage for the first time. Like most federal statutes, adjustments needed to be made over its lifetime.

In May 2016, President Obama and Secretary Perez announced The Fair Labor Standards Act, intended to require employers to compensate employees for overtime. The FLSA was designed to extend overtime protections to

However, there are several methods or procedures for enforcing the FLSA which establishes minimum wage, recordkeeping, overtime pay, and child labor standards. This includes criminal prosecutions by the United States Department of Justice, private lawsuits by workers, employees that includes collective actions and lawsuits and civil actions or lawsuits by the federal government. If any employees violate the FLSA, there are consequences that they will face and penalties they will have to pay. For example, criminal penalties under the FLSA are a fine up to 10,000, imprisonment up to 6 months, or a fine up to $10,000 on their first

The new legislation provides additional remedies, including a cause of action, for discrimination and employer retaliation, and does not require that a wronged employee exhaust administrative remedies prior to filing a lawsuit for such claims. The CFPA allows employees to recover lost wages, interest thereon, even an equal amount as liquidated damages, and attorneys’ fees. An employee must bring any civil action for job reinstatement and reimbursement of lost wages and benefits, within a one year statute of limitations (i.e., the employee must assert the claim within one year of the alleged illegal conduct).

The FLSA regulates this to ensure that the employers are paying fair wages to their employee’s. FLSA also regulates hours worked by an employee to ensure that an employer is paying time and one half for all hours worked past forty in a work week. Minimum wages are different in some states. Many states also have state minimum wage laws.