The Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) is the law that addresses minimum wage, overtime pay, recordkeeping and other related wage and hour issues. The FLSA is enforced by the Wage and Hour Division of the U.S. Department of Labor. There are two ways employees can be covered by the FLSA, called enterprise and individual coverage.
Employees who work for certain enterprises are covered by the FLSA. These enterprises must have two employees, at least $500,000 in annual sales or business and must be hospitals, businesses providing medical or nursing care, schools or government agencies. Also, individuals are covered if they are involved in interstate commerce.
Minimum wage and overtime
Employers are required to pay their employees minimum wage. If the employee is subject to state and federal minimum wage laws, the employee is entitled to the higher wage.
Also, FLSA covered employees who are exempt must also be paid overtime for hours they work over 40 per workweek. While there is no limit on the number of hours an employee can work in a week under the FLSA, overtime must be paid at one and a half times the employee’s regular rate of pay.
Recordkeeping
Employers are required to keep certain records for non-exempt employees. They must contain accurate identifying information about the employee, data about the hours worked and the wages they earned.
These records must include the employee’s full name, social security number, address, gender, occupation, hours worked, how the wages are paid, hourly pay rate, overtime earnings and date of payment, among others. Employers must keep payroll records for at least three years.
Sometimes, employees dispute the accuracy of their pay or information kept in their employment records. An experienced wage and hour attorney can defend employers against these claims.
