Compensation Law

“FLSA is the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938. The FLSA is a Federal law that institutes minimum wage, guaranteed overtime pay, strict record keeping and child labor standards. This affected full-time and part-time workers in the private sector and in federal, state and local governments. The FLSA is administered by the Wage and Hour Division of the United States Department of Labor, which conducts audits and workplace inspections.” (en.wikipedia.org)

“The Fair Labor Standards Act passed by the U.S. Congress in 1938 to establish living standards for workers engaged directly or indirectly in interstate commerce, including those involved in production of goods bound for such commerce.” (education.yahoo.com/reference/encyclopedia)

“The Fair Labor Standards Act identifies two types of employee (non-exempt and exempt). Non-exempt employees are required to account for time worked and sick leave, vacation, and other leave on an hourly and fractional hourly basis. The FLSA requires that these employees be paid overtime at time and Ѕ for actual time worked in excess of 40 hours per week. Exempt employees are exempt from the FLSA minimum wage and overtime provisions. Exempt employees are paid an established monthly or annual salary and are expected to fulfill duties regardless of the hours worked. Exempt employees do not receive overtime for working more than 40 hours in a work week.” (www.hr.ucdavis.edu)

“The Fair Labor Standards Act has been amended repeatedly in subsequent decades, with changes expanding the classes of workers covered; raising the minimum wage; redefining regular-time work and raising overtime payments so as to encourage the hiring of new workers, as opposed to the loading of extra work on the lowest-paid; and equalizing pay scales for men and women.” (education.yahoo.com/reference/encyclopedia)

Minimum compensation is determined by the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938. Compensation is defined as salary, wages and bonuses subject to taxation. The FLSA says nothing about sick-pay, vacation, holiday or severance pay. There is no general federal law that mandates these benefits. There are specific requirements for federal employees and those paid indirectly from federal contracts; the best known of these is the Davis-Bacon Act requiring “prevailing wages”. The FLSA says nothing about overtime for work on the weekends or holidays and does not even require work breaks, although any provided for less than 30 minutes must be paid.

The states enforce most wage and hours laws. There are minimum wage requirements for employees within their jurisdiction that are higher in some states than others.

Current interpretation for the State of California, of which I reside: In August of 2004 changes in the overtime regulations commenced. This change was a revision to the meaning of an exempt worker also known as “white collar” overtime. The federal regulations do not have as much of an impact in California as in other states.