| Employment & Labor Law |
| Discrimination |
| Rights: Americans Disabilities Act |
| Employment Contracts |
| Family & Medical Leave |
| Human Resources |
| OSHA |
| Sexual Harassment |
| Wage and Hour Law |
| Wrongful Termination |
Wage and Hour Law
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) is the primary federal law that sets forth the national minimum wage and overtime standards of employees. While the Act covers virtually all businesses, not all employees are included in its coverage. Majority of the states have their own labor laws; some even provide more protection and privileges than the FLSA. In this case, the employer must comply with the law which gives the employees better protection.
Minimum Wages
The minimum wage rate applies to all covered employees regardless of how they are paid. It does not matter whether you are paid hourly, salaried, commission, piece-rate, or any other basis for as long as you are not among the exempted employees. Any employment contract or agreement that states your salary is below the minimum wage is not enforceable. Employees who are exempt from the FLSA's minimum wage coverage include executive, administrative and professional employees, outside salespeople, and employees engaged in certain fishing activities or of certain agricultural employers, among others.
Overtime Compensation
The FLSA generally requires that employees who are obliged to work more than forty hours a week are entitled to an overtime rate of 1.5 times the applicable regular rate. Some state laws provide for daily, instead of weekly, overtime rates or, alternatively, a premium rate applied to the seventh day of the workweek. Some employees are also exempt from the requirements of overtime compensation similar to the minimum wages.
Employers who refuse to pay the minimum wage of either under the FLSA or the state law, whichever is higher, may have to face the legal action initiated by the affected employees or by the Department of Labor. You may also hold the employer personally liable for such violations. And if you are one of those who are misclassified as an exempt employee, you may want to hire an attorney to assist you in filing a lawsuit against your employer.