In 1937, President Franklin D. Roosevelt passed the Fair Labor Standards Act (commonly referred to as the “FLSA”). The purpose of the Depression era legislation was to protect the individual employee against abusive employers and to ensure a minimum standard of living to the American worker. FLSA guarantees workers a federal minimum wage and overtime pay for employees who work over 40 hours a week.
Expanding FLSA Over the Years
Over the years, FLSA has been expanded to include other areas of employee protections, such as restrictions on employing children, and employee documentation and recordkeeping. In recent months, the US Department of Labor released an “Administrative Interpretation” (AI) to clarify the definition of “clothes” under the FLSA.
The Definition of “Clothing”
Currently, the FLSA excludes time spent “changing clothes or washing” at the start or end of a workday from compensable time, and the vague exemption has led to many lawsuits and conflicting court decisions on what constitutes ‘clothes.’ The AI provides clarity by stating that the time spent changing into or out of protective gear or equipment required by law, the employer, or the nature of the job, is indeed compensable.
The AI further clarifies that even if ‘changing clothes’ does not fall under a compensable activity or time, it may still trigger the ‘continuous workday rule’ if the subsequent activities after changing clothes would be compensable under FLSA, activities such as walking, waiting, or other travel time. Employers should review their compensation policies or practices to reflect this change to remain compliant with the law.
The guidelines covered by the FLSA can be confusing, and costly, if not adhered to. Speak with a CPEhr HR Consultant for an audit of your FLSA practices.
Source: EPLI Pro News, July 2010
Just about every day, it seems the Department of Labor wins or settles another expensive lawsuit based on the “simple” laws of wage and hour. Below are eight beyond-the-basics FLSA questions that address wage and hour questions. How knowledgeable are you?
As lawyers, small businesses and employees struggle to understand the implications of the new health care regulations, there are certain laws they should certainly be aware of. One of the immediately effective portions of the Health Care Reform Act was a requirement under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) that an employer provide breaks and a location for breast feeding of an infant up to one year of age. Section 4207 of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010 (PPACA) amends Section 7 of the FLSA to require employers to provide:
In our last post we reviewed some of the basic guidelines relating to wage and hour compliance, and how California law differs from Federal law. In this post we continue to review wage and hour laws, but move to bonuses.
Companies both large and small are finding themselves in legal battles against employees for not complying with overtime laws as outlined in the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 (FLSA). The complex regulations found in the FLSA code governing proper payment of wages is overseen by the Department of Labor and can result in hefty fines, or possibly prison time, for multiple violations. In this and subsequent posts, we will look at some of the potential pitfalls, guidelines and laws governing wages as outlined in the FLSA.
Effective July 24, 2009, the Federal Minimum Wage will increase from $6.55 to $7.25 per hour, representing more than a 10 percent increase. All employers, regardless of size, are required to post the most recent Minimum Wage poster (that went into effect on January 16, 2009) even if your state’s minimum wage differs.
