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The Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) is a federal statute that outlines requirements and prohibitions regarding nationwide minimum wage, overtime and youth employment. Since it's enactment in 1938, the Fair Labor Standards Act has been amended a number of times to increase minimum wages, establish equal pay for equal work and make various other changes that keep the law modern and fair.
The guiding principle behind the FLSA is that workers are protected and appropriately compensated for the work they do. To this end, the Fair Labor Standards Act defines overtime and its associated compensation.
All workers should familiarize themselves with the requirements of the Fair Labor Standards Act, including its overtime regulations. Anyone who suspects that he or she has been victimized by an overtime-pay violation should consider pursuing a labor lawsuit to reclaim entitled monies.
According to the Fair Labor Standards Act, overtime refers to any time a full-time employee works over the required 40 hours per week during that same week. While overtime applies to low-level supervisors and other employees, executives are exempt from being able to earn overtime.
Here is an example of when overtime pay would apply: If an employee works 10 hours Monday through Thursday (which totals 40 hours), then any additional hours he or she puts in on Friday, Saturday or Sunday must be paid at the overtime rate.
FLSA Overtime RatesThe "overtime rate" is defined as no less than 1.5 times as much as the employee's hourly rate. So, for example, employees who earn a regular pay of $10 per hour should be paid $15 per overtime hour (10 x 1.5 = 15). |
It's important to note that the Fair Labor Standards Act doesn't necessarily require overtime to be paid if employees work holidays, weekends or other times that are traditionally considered non-work days. By law, overtime only has to be paid if work on those days exceeds the 40 hours of required full-time work.
On August 23, 2008, the Bush administration passed a controversial amendment to the Fair Labor Standards Act, regarding who is and is not entitled to overtime. In the interest of business, the FLSA overtime amendment redefined low-level supervisors as "executives" so that they would no longer be able to collect overtime pay.
This so-called "Fair Pay" amendment stirred up much anger, especially among labor unions such as the AFL-CIO, as these changes were stripping millions of workers of their rights to overtime. Some of the affected workers, such as "executive assistants," included those whose job titles included the term "executive," despite the fact that their job roles were not at the executive level.
Although attempts to negate this controversial overtime amendment were unsuccessful, both industry and the courts now accept that this amendment only applies to those whose job functions are at the executive level – meaning that executives, not low-level supervisors, are exempt from earning overtime.
Understanding the Fair Labor Standards Act is essential to ensuring that your employer is paying you enough for the work that you do. Failure to pay overtime for hours worked over the required 40 is a violation of the FLSA and grounds for a legal claim.
If you are being victimized by your employer's failure to pay overtime, talk to an experienced labor lawyer to learn more about your legal rights and options.
California Labor Commissioner, Angela Bradstreet filed a lawsuit with the Superior Court of California, County of San Diego, Dec. 23, against Einstein Industries Inc. According to the lawsuit, the San Diego-based online healthcare and ...
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