Regardless of which state you live in, so long as you live in the United States, you may be covered by the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). This is an especially important consideration depending on your state, as American state law varies from jurisdiction to jurisdiction in how many protections are afforded to workers.
Keep reading to learn which protections the Fair Labor Standards Act does and does not cover. Remember that whether you are an exempt or non-exempt worker, you should always contact an Atlanta wage and hour law attorney if you have concerns about your work conditions.
How Can the Fair Labor Standards Act Help Me?
The Fair Labor Standards Act’s provisions mean that all covered employers must receive minimum wage and overtime page. Moreover, their employer is charged with keeping track of their hours worked, as well as maintaining restrictions on child labor. These protections cover part- and full-time workers in both the public and private sectors.
Since July 24, 2009, the federal minimum wage has been set to $7.25 per hour. Once an employee works more than forty hours a week, they must be paid one and one-half times their usual wage. Different states calculate the hours requirement differently, however, and we can see the interaction between state and federal law in this instance.
To illustrate: Oregon calculates hours actually worked, so Oregon employees are entitled to overtime pay after they work 40 hours in a week. In California, by contrast, workers are entitled to overtime pay after they work more than 8 hours in one day. Hence, if someone works ten hours, then are entitled to two hours of overtime pay.
It is illegal for an employer to deduct an employee for merchandise shortages or mandated uniforms, if so doing so would lower the employee’s wage either below the minimum wage or cut into the employee’s overtime pay.
What Doesn’t the Fair Labor Standards Act Cover?
Aside from the above requirements, the FLSA doesn’t speak on questions of vacation, holiday, severance, or sick pay. Similarly, the FLSA is silent on whether employees are allowed meal periods, break periods, or holidays off. While the FLSA does ensure overtime pay for non-exempt employees, it does not mandate augmented pay if someone works on the weekends or the holidays. Finally, employers are not legally bound to offer pay raises, fringe benefits, or discharge notices. The FLSA does not even require employers to immediately pay a terminated employee’s last wages.
