CHAPTER 8The Law
FEDERAL
Fair Labor Standards Act
Perhaps the most basic of all payroll and employment laws is the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 (FLSA), also known as the Federal Wage-Hour Law. The FLSA does the following:
- Sets the minimum wage and overtime rates employees must receive for their work.
- Requires record-keeping by employers.
- Places restrictions on the types of work children can do and the hours they can work.
- Mandates equal pay for equal work.
Almost as important is what the FLSA does not do. The FLSA does not:
- Require employers to provide paid vacations, sick days, jury duty leave, holidays, lunch breaks, or coffee breaks.
- Regulate how often employees must be paid, or when they must be paid after termination of employment (either voluntarily or involuntarily).
- Restrict the hours that employees over 16 years of age may be required to work.
Another federal law or regulation may govern these areas, but in most instances, they are handled by the individual states. See the following note.
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