Fair Labor Standards Act

What is the Fair Labor Standards Act?

The Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) refers to a US law that establishes to protect workers from unfair work and pay practices. The FLSA provides direction to regulate and deal with employees and worker including minimum wages, childlabor, overtime pay, and employee record-keeping, and reporting.

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Understanding the Fair Labor Standards Act

The Act was introduced in 1938 to protect employees and workers from exploitation by their employers. The FLSA is a US law, passed and introduced with the motive of providing fair pay and work. The Act is also responsible for the improving the welfare and livelihood of US workers. The act covered the conditions which are directly related to the employees and workers living of standards and well-being.

The Act is helping in the regulation of workers working environment and pay scale, working time including overtime pay. It also includes employees of private sector who are doing part-time and full time, and employees of local, state. The Act is to manage and run by the US Dept. of Labor Wage and Hour Division, it set various rules to regulate and protect and ensure the rights of workers and prohibits child labor. The Act regulates the employment of an enterprise that falls under the category of interstate commerce, if an enterprise makes business of US $500,000 or more in a year comes under category of commerce and subject to the fair labor standards act regulations.

When the Act was drafted in 1938, employers fought as it includes mandated a 30-hour work week then it was revised with 40-hour work weeks including 8-hour days as the standard. The Act introduced for the rights and welfare of the workers and employees.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

1. What are the benefits of Fair labor standards act?

The Fair Labor Standards Act established to provide protection against the exploitation and unfair pay and work practices of the employers within private as well as public sector. Under the Act, employees enjoy their work rights as the law regulates the minimum wage, work pay, and recordkeeping responsibilities. If the employer violates the laws under the Act, he may be subjected to civil and criminal penalties.

2. The right to a minimum wage

The Fair Labor Standards Act is responsible to regulate the minimum amount of money need to pay their non-exempt employees and workers. Under this right, employee is allowed to ask for money that is guaranteed to earn. The Fair Labor Standards Act protects the employees and workers from employer’s unfair pay practice as workers understand the minimum wages that are guaranteed to pay as they earn.

3. Reasonable work hours

Under the Fair Labor Standards Act, reasonable working hours are also established for workers. Workers who work more than 40 hours during a workweek will get overtime pay for the extra hours from their employer, the overtime pay will pay for additional hours calculated on hourly rates. There are limited or fixed working hours for the worker who is younger than sixteen so they can adjust on school and school days.

4. Compliance rules

The Fair Labor Standards Act provides other employment laws, and the employer has to keep than will comply with its provisions. It helps to handle unfair work practices against employees.

5. Equal pay for equal work

The Fair Labor Standards Act’s amendment the Equal Pay Act, establishes to protect the workers against the different pay for the same and equal work based on the gender. According to the Equal Pay Act, an employer has to pay same amount of money to all workers without any discrimination of gender for the same work. If different job titles required same jobs with same duties, skills, and education must be paid by employer equally regardless of the gender of the workers.

How the Fair Labor Standards Act works?

The Fair Labor Standards Act establishes for the fair payment to the workers and employees for their work. It includes various rules regarding the working hour and payments by the employers to its employees and workers. Under the Fair Labor Standards act regulates through employment laws and employees are specified by exempt or nonexempt category.  According to the Act, if employees do overtime, they have to pay by their employer at one-and-a-half times the regular hourly rate for the additional working hours.

The Fair Labor Standards Act set hour 40 hours during a workweek as standard working hours. The Act regulates the employment of the enterprises which are engaged in the interstate commerce whether its public and private. The Fair Labor Standards Act also applies to other services workers such as cooks, full-time babysitters, housekeepers.

What are the exemptions covered by Fair Labor Standards Act?

Under the Fair Labor Standards act employees are specified various exemption categories including:

1. Executive exemption. An employee who engaged in the following activities is considered as an exempt executive:

• If an employee controls and manages other workers as the major job duty
• If an employee directs two or more full-time employees
• If an employee has the authority to take decision and suggestion about promotion, hire, discipline, fire, discipline, and demotion.
• If an employee earns minimum US $455 per week or owns minimum 20% of the business and actively engaged in management.

2. Administrative exemption. An employee who engaged in the following activities is considered as an administrative exemption:

• If an employee directly engaged in performing office or non-manual work of management or administration of company.
• If an employee has authority to take judgment in work duties and earn minimum US $455 weekly.

3. Professional exemption. An employee who engaged in the following activities is considered as an administrative exemption:

• If an employee engaged in performing innovative and creative work and profession such as the graphic arts, writing, music, and acting.
• If an employee performing work by having specific knowledge that requires for the work such as pharmacy, teaching, engineering, law, accounting, architecture, medical, and so on and earn US $455 per week as salary except computer specialists, doctors, teachers, and lawyers.