The Fair Labor Standards Act

According to the Government of BC website, the Employment Standards Act is provincial legislation put in place to protect the rights and freedoms of BC workers and employers (2011). Furthermore, the Act itself exists to ensure that there are basic standards for employment throughout our province, as well as allowing both employees and employers to be protected by these standards in the case of a dispute (bclaws.ca, 1980). The act includes regulations which outline employee’s rights with regards to such things as minimum wage; overtime and vacation pay. It is imperative for human resources professionals to understand this Act - as it not only protects organizations legally, but it

SHOULD EXECPTIONALLY TALENTED YOUNG ATHLETES BE ALLOWED TO PLAY PROFESSIONAL SPORTS WHEN THEY ARE STILL IN THEIR EARLY TEENS EVEN IF THEY HAVE TO MOVE AWAY FROM HOME AND LEAVE SCHOOL?

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.

         The NBA has seen many different players come and go throughout its 50 years of existence. In the last 15 years, there has been a boom of underclassmen leaving college early to enter the NBA draft. The last NBA draft in June, the top ten picks alone were underclassmen(Sports Illustrated, 264). Many more underclassmen are entering the NBA this year. The typical college career for the basketball players is playing until your junior year, then going pro. The NBA and the NCAA must do something in order to keep these young players in college.

Lebron James and Freddy Adu are both young athletes and with millions in their pockets with a countless number of endorsement contracts. Whether it is high school athletes skipping college and discontinuing the development of their education for millions of dollars, or teenagers signing contracts with businesses for massive amounts of money, youth sports programs are changing rapidly. However, American high school athletes are not financially, physically, or mentally prepared to tackle and endure the pressures of professional sports.

The NBA “one-and-done” rule was first implemented in the summer of 2006. This new rule concerns the eligibility for recent high school graduates to forego their eligibility to play college basketball and enter straight into the NBA draft. The informed high school basketball players that they had to be at least one year removed from high school and had to be at least 19 years of age in order to partake in the NBA draft. Currently, the league does not require players to play NCAA basketball as you can be drafted after playing a season overseas. However, for many high school graduates attending college has becomes their only option in pursing the dream to one-day play in the NBA.

Coaches should be required to give equal playing time to kids 13 and under because studies have shown that “70% of children are dropping out of organized sports by the age of 13” (Sullivan). There are multiple reasons for why this is happening. The kids could be finding new things that interest them more for example, but one of the reasons is because they’re sitting the bench, not getting playing time. A reason for the coach benching them is because they might be underdeveloped and not the best player so the coaches try to mandate their playing time. In an article, by an anonymous writer the person states that “If kids are on a team, and they never get to play meaningful minutes or get pulled out after any mistake, they are going to quit!” (Sullivan). This is true. Who wants to sit on the bench and be forced to watch your other teammates play. How are kids supposed to develop a real world view of the game? How are they supposed to improve?

Next, by an athlete staying and completing their education teaches the athlete maturity levels and raises maturity levels of an athlete. By staying in college an athlete can grow, develop, and mature throughout the course of their years in college. The athletes brain is more developed. The athlete has a more mature, developed mindset that benefits the athlete by allowing them to see game plans in a different perspective and allows the athlete to face challenges with a clearer mind, because college has equipped them with more experience in tough situations. For example, Michael Jordan, also known as MJ, received a full athletic scholarship to North Carolina University in 1981. Jordan played for the North Carolina Tar Heels for 3 years. Although Jordan was drafted in the 1984 NBA draft, he was only a junior in college.

They can play in Europe, they can play in the D-League, they can go to college. This is a not a social program, this is a business rule for us" (Harrigan, 2012). http://blog.syracuse.com/sports/2012/04/are_one-and-done_players_bad_f.html. However, many choose to not play overseas, or within the D-League because the NCAA is a much better way for players to promote their skills to NBA teams and executives.

Before 2006, NBA players did not have to go to college to be drafted into NBA. Notable players such as Lebron James, Kevin Garnett, Dwight Howard, and Kobe Bryant were drafted directly out of high school. Their careers have been nothing short of outstanding, so many people have questioned why the NBA increased the age limit in the first place. In 2005, the NBA decided that every player entering the draft must be at least one year removed from high school. Most players elect to spend that year, and only that year, playing at the collegiate level, creating what is known as the “one-and-done”. This is because most players decide that they do not want to risk injury playing another year or two in college, and would rather go into the NBA to receive the paycheck that entering the league promises. Since most players only spend one year in college, they come to the NBA still pretty raw in terms of skill. As a result, they play very few minutes, preventing them from developing their talent. In response to this problem, the NBA is thinking about increasing the minimum age limit to twenty. This would force players to stay in college for another year. NBA National Columnist Howard Beck wrote an article, “New Commissioner Adam Silver Argues Minimum Age of 20 Better for NBA, NCAA Games”, reporting on the possible rule change. The NBA should increase the minimum age to twenty because it allows players to develop and it also increases the quality of college basketball.

The state according the 2014 census estimates is one of the largest in the United States with 26.9 million people, of which 20.6 million (working population) are 16 years and over. As a general rule, the Fair Labor Standard Act (FLSA) sets 14 years of age as the minimum age for employment, and limits the number of hours worked by minors under the age of 16.

When most individuals were five years old, there was an adult to watch over them and tell them what is wrong and what is right, but when someone is an adult they must take the responsibility upon themselves to make their own choices in life. This concept should apply to athletes and the sports organizations that they compete for. At a professional level, most athletes are considered to be an adult by the United States because they are above the age of 21 years old. Most athletes are adults, therefore they are

Imagine being 19 years old and making millions of dollars doing what you love; this is just one opportunity that the NBA’s ‘one-and-done’ rule offers young, talented basketball players. The NBA has a rule in place for all of it’s upcoming stars. They must be at least 19 and one year separated from their last season of high school basketball. There a many different perspectives and opinions on the rule but there are a lot of benefits to young athletes the option to be in the NBA by such a young age and getting started on their professional career at only the age of 19. The rule simply offers many opportunities that many other sports leagues

The Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938, as amended is also referred to as "the Act" or "FLSA". The Act provides for minimum standards for both wages and overtime entitlement, and spells out administrative procedures by which covered work time must be compensated. FLSA also include provisions related to child labor, equal pay, and portal-to-portal activities. A general overview of FLSA is that 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 government. In 1974 the Fair Labor Standards Act began applying to employees of the United States Federal Government. ( para.1, 2,”

According to the NPR, “The rationale for the rule was that teenagers were too immature both physically and emotionally to put up with the rigors of the NBA” (www.npr.org). Some people might say teen athletes may be too immature these days. Since athletes are required to attend college, it is obligated they maintain the required grades. Although colleges are seen as a tremendous academic honor to anyone who attends them, to some athletes they are only essential to make it to the professional level.