Fact Sheet #14: Coverage Under the FLSA

Basic understanding on the FLSA Fact Sheet#14

The FLSA is a Federal law procedure that is responsible in setting minimum wage, overtime, recordkeeping, and youth employment standards.

The minimum wage for covered nonexempt workers is not less than $7.25 per hour as of July 24, 2009. There are some exceptions regarding overtime ("time and one-half") must be paid for work over forty hours a week. However, Child labor regulations prohibit younger person that is less than eighteen years old from working in certain jobs and addedd sets rules concerning the hours and times for employees apply below sixteen years old.

There are more than 130 million American workers which are protected (or "covered") by the FLSA, that is enforced by the Wage and Hour Division of the U.S. Department of Labor.

There are two ways in which an employee can be covered by this law:

Enterprise Coverage

Employees who work for certain businesses or organizations (or "enterprises") are covered by the FLSA. These enterprises, which must have at least two employees, are:

(1) those that have an annual dollar volume of sales or business done of at least $500,000

(2) hospitals, businesses providing medical or nursing care for residents, schools and preschools, and government agencies

Individual Coverage

Even when there is no enterprise coverage, employees are protected by the FLSA if their work regularly involves them in commerce between States ("interstate commerce"). The FLSA covers individual workers who are "engaged in commerce or in the production of goods for commerce."

Examples of employees who are involved in interstate commerce include those who: produce goods (such as a worker assembling components in a factory or a secretary typing letters in an office) that will be sent out of state, regularly make telephone calls to persons located in other States, handle records of interstate transactions...

Also, domestic service workers (such as housekeepers, full-time babysitters, and cooks) are normally covered by the law.

Source: dol. gov/whd/regs/compliance/whdfs14.htm

Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA)

Today, and in the coming days i will try to provide updated information regarding Employment Laws for Labor/Manpower in USA. Below is the overview of (FLSA) or the Fair Labor Standard of Ministry of Labour in USA.

Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) is administered by the Wage and Hour Division (WHD). The Act establishes standards for minimum wages, overtime pay, recordkeeping, and child labor. These standards affect more than 130 million workers, both full time and part time, in the private and public sectors.

The Act applies to enterprises with employees who engage in interstate commerce, produce goods for interstate commerce, or handle, sell, or work on goods or materials that have been moved in or produced for interstate commerce. For most firms, a test of not less than $500,000 in annual dollar volume of business applies (i.e., the Act does not cover enterprises with less than this amount of business).

However, the Act does cover the following regardless of their dollar volume of business: hospitals; institutions primarily engaged in the care of the sick, aged, mentally ill, or disabled who reside on the premises; schools for children who are mentally or physically disabled or gifted; preschools, elementary and secondary schools, and institutions of higher education; and federal, state, and local government agencies.

Employees of firms that do not meet the $500,000 annual dollar volume test may be covered in any workweek when they are individually engaged in interstate commerce, the production of goods for interstate commerce, or an activity that is closely related and directly essential to the production of such goods.

In addition, the Act covers domestic service workers, such as day workers, housekeepers, chauffeurs, cooks, or full time babysitters, if they receive at least $1,700 in 2009 in cash wages from one employer in a calendar year, or if they work a total of more than eight hours a week for one or more employers. (This calendar year threshold is adjusted by the Social Security Administration each year.) For additional coverage information, see the Wage and Hour Division Fact Sheet #14: Coverage Under the FLSA.

The Act exempts some employees from its overtime pay and minimum wage provisions, and it also exempts certain employees from the overtime pay provisions only. Because the exemptions are narrowly defined, employers should check the exact terms and conditions for each by contacting their local Wage and Hour Division office.

Source: dol. gov/compliance/guide/minwage.htm