What do managers need to know about the fair labor standards act?

1. What do managers need to know about the fair labor standards act? Robin Soderblom BA638 Bellevue University September 8, 2013

2. The Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) • “Prescribes standards for the basic minimum wage and overtime pay, affects most private and public employment • Requires employers to pay covered employees who are not otherwise exempt at least the federal minimum wage and overtime pay of one-and-one-half-times the regular rate of pay • For nonagricultural operations, it restricts the hours that children under age 16 can work and forbids the employment of children under age 18 in certain jobs deemed too dangerous • For agricultural operations, it prohibits the employment of children under age 16 during school hours and in certain jobs deemed too dangerous”

3. Minimum Wage • “Covered, nonexempt workers are entitled to a minimum wage of $7.25 per hour effective July 24, 2009 • Nonexempt workers must be paid overtime pay at a rate of not less than one and one-half times their regular rates of pay after 40 hours of work in a workweek • Wages required by the FLSA are due on the regular payday for the pay period covered”

4. Some items that flsa does not REGULATE • “For example, the FLSA does not require: • vacation, holiday, severance, or sick pay • meal or rest periods, holidays off, or vacations • premium pay for weekend or holiday work • pay raises or fringe benefits; or • a discharge notice, reason for discharge, or immediate payment of final wages to terminated employees”

5. tipped employees • “Tipped employees are individuals engaged in occupations in which they customarily and regularly receive more than $30 a month in tips. The employer may consider tips as part of wages, but the employer must pay at least $2.13 an hour in direct wages • If an employee’s tips combined with the employer’s direct wages of at least $2.13 an hour do not equal the minimum hourly wage, the employer must make up the difference. Also, employees must retain all of their tips, except to the extent that they participate in a valid tip pooling or sharing arrangement”

6. OVERTIME PAY • “An employer who requires or permits an employee to work overtime is generally required to pay the employee premium pay for such overtime work • Unless specifically exempted, employees covered by the Act must receive overtime pay for hours worked in excess of 40 in a workweek at a rate not less than time and one-half their regular rates of pay. • There is no limit in the Act on the number of hours employees aged 16 and older may work in any workweek • Where an employee in a single workweek works at two or more different types of work for which different straight-time rates have been established, the regular rate for that week is the weighted average of such rates. That is, the earnings from all such rates are added together and this total is then divided by the total number of hours worked at all jobs”

7. Exemptions from Overtime Pay Only • “Certain commissioned employees of retail or service establishments; auto, truck, trailer, farm implement, boat, or aircraft sales-workers; or parts-clerks and mechanics servicing autos, trucks, or farm implements, who are employed by non-manufacturing establishments primarily engaged in selling these items to ultimate purchasers • Employees of railroads and air carriers, taxi drivers, certain employees of motor carriers, seamen on American vessels, and local delivery employees paid on approved trip rate plans • Announcers, news editors, and chief engineers of certain non-metropolitan broadcasting stations; • Domestic service workers living in the employer’s residence • Employees of motion picture theaters; and, • Farm-workers”

8. recordkeeping • “Every employer covered by the FLSA must keep certain records for each covered, non-exempt worker. Employers must keep records on wages, hours, and other information as set forth in the Department of Labor's regulations • The following is a listing of the basic payroll records that an employer must maintain: • Employee's full name, as used for Social Security purposes, and on the same record, the employee's identifying symbol or number if such is used in place of name on any time, work, or payroll records • Address, including zip code • Birth date, if younger than 19 • Sex and occupation • Time and day of week when employee's workweek begins • Hours worked each day and total hours worked each workweek • Basis on which employee's wages are paid (e.g., "$9 per hour", "$440 a week", "piecework") • Regular hourly pay rate • Total daily or weekly straight-time earnings • Total overtime earnings for the workweek • All additions to or deductions from the employee's wages • Total wages paid each pay period • Date of payment and the pay period covered by the payment”

9. compliance • “The Department of Labor provides employers, workers, and others with clear and easy-to-access information and assistance on how to comply with the FLSA. Among the many resources available are: • The Handy Reference Guide to the FLSA • Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) Coverage and Employment Status Advisor:  Helps employers and employees understand and determine coverage of employees under the FLSA. • Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) Hours Worked Advisor: Helps employers and employees determine which work-related activities are considered "hours worked" and thus hours for which employees must be paid. • Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) Overtime Security Advisor: Helps employees and employers determine whether a particular employee is exempt from the FLSA's minimum wage and overtime pay requirements. • Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) Overtime Calculator Advisor:  Helps employers and employees compute the amount of overtime pay due in a sample pay period based on information from the user. • FLSA Fact Sheets: Topical Fact Sheet Index • Comprehensive FLSA Presentation (Microsoft® PowerPoint®)”

10. Conclusion • Minimum wage for most employees is $7.25 per hour • Once an employee has worked more than forty hours in one week – the employee is entitled to be paid overtime at a rate of 1.5 times his or her regular rate for the overtime hours • Particular records must be kept to comply with FLSA and to ensure accurate timekeeping so that wage and/or overtime regulations are not violated • A manager should consult www.dol.gov and all of the pertinent sections relating to FLSA when questions arise – specifically questions on minimum wage and overtime requirements

11. Reference: • www.dol.gov