"The Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 [...] creates the right to a minimum wage, and 'time-and-a-half' overtime pay when people work over forty hours a week."
Covers the legal requirements and policies that employers must follow in relation to minimum wage, overtime pay, hours of work, and other wage and hour issues.
Minimum Wage Laws: The federal government and the majority of states have enacted minimum wage laws that employers must abide by.
Overtime Pay Laws: Overtime pay refers to the compensation given to employees for working more than their scheduled hours, and the rules associated with payment vary from state to state.
Employee Classification: There are a variety of employee classifications, including exempt and non-exempt, that dictate whether or not workers deserve overtime pay.
Hours Worked & Meal Breaks: This refers to the regulations that dictate when and how employees must be compensated for their work hours and when they are entitled to breaks during the workday.
Record Keeping: Employers are required to maintain detailed records of all hours worked by their employees, including overtime and meal breaks, in order to comply with wage and hour laws.
Child Labor Laws: There are a variety of regulations in place to protect young workers, including restrictions on the number of hours they are allowed to work and the types of jobs they can perform.
Deductions & Garnishments: Wage and hour laws dictate how much money employers can deduct from an employee’s paycheck for taxes, insurance, and other purposes.
Payroll Taxes: Employers are responsible for ensuring that proper tax withholdings are taken from employees’ paychecks and paid out to the relevant government agencies.
Compliance & Enforcement: Wage and hour laws are often subject to strict compliance and enforcement regulations, making it critical for employers to stay on top of the latest changes and updates.
Wrongful Termination & Retaliation: Employers must be careful to avoid wrongful termination and retaliation claims, which can arise when employees are fired or punished for exercising their rights under the wage and hour laws.
Minimum wage laws: Sets a minimum hourly rate employers must pay their employees.
Overtime laws: Requires employers to pay employees additional compensation for work performed beyond a certain number of hours in a workweek or workday.
Meal and break laws: Requires employers to provide meal and rest breaks to employees.
Child labor laws: Protects children from hazardous work and regulates the hours and condition of work allowed for minors.
Prevailing wage laws: Requires contractors and subcontractors working on certain government-funded construction projects to pay workers at least the prevailing wage for that job in that area.
Record-keeping laws: Requires employers to maintain certain records related to hours worked and wages paid to employees.
Equal pay laws: Prohibits employers from discriminating against employees on the basis of gender in terms of pay and benefits.
Exempt and non-exempt employee laws: Determines which employees are exempt from overtime and minimum wage laws.
Misclassification laws: Prohibits employers from misclassifying employees as independent contractors to avoid paying benefits and complying with wage and hour laws.
Tip laws: Regulates how tips are distributed among employees and how employers can use tip credits to pay employees less than minimum wage.
"It applies to employees engaged in interstate commerce or employed by an enterprise engaged in commerce or in the production of goods for commerce."
"It also prohibits employment of minors in 'oppressive child labor'."
"The Act was enacted by the 75th Congress and signed into law by President Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1938."