The Fair Labor Standards Act
The Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) was passed by Congress on June 25th,
1938. The main objective of the act was to eliminate “labor
conditions detrimental to the maintenance of the minimum standards of
living necessary for health, efficiency and well-being of workers,”[1]
who engaged directly or indirectly in interstate commerce, including
those involved in production of goods bound for such commerce.
A major provision of the act established a maximum work week and
minimum wage. Initially, the minimum wage was $0.25 per hour, along
with a maximum workweek of 44 hours for the first year, 42 for the
second year and 40 thereafter. Minimum wages of $0.25 per hour were
established for the first year, $0.30 for the second year, and $0.40
over a period of the next six years.
Other provisions set standards for overtime compensation and banned
products of child labor from interstate commerce. A Wage and Hour
Division (WHD) was also created by the Department of Labor. The
purpose of this division was to accelerate the raising standards
within an industry if, a committee recommended change.
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, raising
overtime payments to encourage the hiring of new workers, and
equalizing pay scales for men and women.
FLSA Regulations and Non-Regulations
While the FLSA does set basic minimum wage, overtime pay standards,
and regulates the employment of minors, there are a number of
employment practices which FLSA does not r...
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... 9. Fair Labor Standards Act, www.infoplease.com, 6/11/04
10. Senate passes important tax bill with overtime amendments attached
by Bill Leonard, Society for Human Resources Management, www.shrm.org,
5/19/04.
11. DOL issues proposal for changing overtime exemption requirements,
by Staff reports, Society for Human Resource Management, www.shrm.org,
6/11/04
12. What does the Fair Labor Standards Act not Require?, by elaws,
www.dol.gov/elaws, 6/11/04
13. Handy Reference Guide to the Fair Labor Standards Act, by US
Department of Labor, revised 10/96, www.dol.gov/esa/public/whd_org.htm,
pages 1-10.
14. Fair Labor Standards Act, www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk, 6/11/04
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[1] Fair Labor Standards Act; www.inforplease.com, June 11, 2004.
According to the established FLSA, non-exempt employees working on an hourly basis should make a living wage working the forty hour work week. Currently,minimum wage is not equal to the living wage. An action needs to be taken now, before the middle class completely disappears. One percent of the populations owns more of the wealth than the other ninety-nine percent.If the working class is not able to improve its current situation only two social classes will exist. America will be divided by a high well paid class and a low class with a minimum wage
President Franklin D. Roosevelt enacted the FLSA on June 25, 1938. It was signed in as a federal labor law to provide criteria for governing general labor practices such as overtime, minimum wages, child labor protections and equal pay. The Fair Labor Standards Act is a long and extensive document in and of itself. It defines many exceptions and exemptions. For purposes of this paper the portion of the FLSA that will be concentrated on is the difference between exempt and non-exempt employees.
The Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) is administered by the United States Department of Labor Wage and Hour Division. The Act regulates child labor, wages, and hours, it also requires employers to keep proper records and which to maintain (Bennett Alexander, 2004). The Act, now law requires employers to pay employees at the lower end of the pay scale, a certain amount which maintains a minimum standard of living and out of poverty (Bennett Alexander, 2004). That is the law and theory, in actuality the law has caused poverty in certain areas of the employment theatre, keeping those who are at the low end of the pay scale; below the reach of higher paying jobs.
The balancing act of family and work can be very difficult at times. At some point in everyone’s life, he or she will need to take time off of work to deal with family matters. The Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) of 1993 was created to help employees find a balance between the challenging demands of work and home. This Act allows eligible workers that require time off for personal reasons or family emergencies up to twelve weeks of unpaid leave.
This Act of Parliament is the core part of UK health and safety law. It places a responsibility on all bosses and managers to make sure, so far as is reasonably practicable, the health, safety and well-being at work of all their staff and workers.
Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 fundamentally changed the cash welfare system in the United States. It cancelled Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC) plan, replacing it with Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF). It abolished the entitlement status of welfare, provided states with strong incentives to impose time limits, and tied funding levels to the states’ success in moving welfare recipients into work. It is well known that caseloads plummeted during the 1990s and that employment rates of single mothers--the primary recipients of welfare in the United States—rose almost as fast (Shipler).
Transition: Last year the federal minimum wage celebrated its 75th birthday last week as part of the federal 1938 Fair Labor Standards Act. The Act banned child labor, set a 44 hour maximum workweek, and guaranteed a minimum wage of 25 cents an hour. (Hitzik) Since then Congress has raised the rate 23 times. (USDOL)
On Saturday, June 25, 1938, President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed 121 bills. Among these bills was a landmark law in the United States’ social and economic development—Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 (FLSA) or otherwise known as the Wages and Hours Bill. This new law created a maximum forty-four hour workweek, guaranteed “time-and-a-half” for overtime hours in certain jobs, banned oppressive child labor, and established the nation’s first minimum wage. By definition, a minimum wage is the lowest wage permitted by law or by a special agreement (such as one with a labor union). Throughout the years, the minimum wage has been a central debate topic for the socioeconomic world and now in 2014, the debate has broken through the surface once more. In order to make a choice of whether the wage should be increased or decreased, the history of the wage is needed to make an informed decision.
According to Principles of Macroeconomics by Gregory Mankiw, “The U.S. Congress first instituted a minimum wage with the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938” (Mankiw 4-119). Minimum wage is used to set a limit of pay employers must pay their employees. Through the years the minimum wage has raised as productivity has raised. The minimum wage has constantly fluctuated and changed multiple times.
In 1892 Federal Government adopt an 8 hour workday and other wages standard for employee. In 1903 Congress create the U.S. Department of Commerce and Labor. In 1933 Congress passes the National Industrial Recovery Act covering private sector wage hour (Congressional Digest). “On Saturday, June 25, 1938, to avoid pocket vetoes 9 days after Congress had adjourned, President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed 121 bills. Among these bills was a landmark law in the Nation’s social and economic development- Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938” (Jonathan Grossman, Dol.gov). Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 becomes basic federal statute governing minimum wage, working hour, equal pay, and child labor. Minimum wages was set at .25 cents an hour (Congressional Digest).
The ability for the federal government to regulate businesses’ activity is given in the Constitution. Article 1, Section 8 is known as the commerce clause; it states, “Congress shall have the Power…to regulate Commerce with foreign Nations, and among the several States, and with the Indian Tribes” (Reed, 173). Through the commerce clause, the government is able to regulate business activity by the use of administrative agencies, which is defined as “a governmental regulatory body that controls and supervises a particular activity or area of public interest and administers and enforces a particular body of law related to that activity or interest” (Administrative Agency, 1). There are two types of regulatory authority that agencies may possess; quasi-legislative and/or quasi-judicial. Quasi-legislative means that agencies can make rules and regulations that have the same impact as a law created by federal legislation. Quasi-judicial authority gives agencies the power to make rulings, just like in federal courts.
The federally mandated minimum wage has been a divisive political issue in American politics since it first came into effect in 1938 under the Presidency of Franklin D. Roosevelt. FDR advocated for the minimum wage with the argument that “all but the hopelessly reactionary will agree that to conserve our primary resources of manpower, government must have some control over maximum hours, minimum wages, the evil of child labor, and the exploitation of unorganized labor” (Greene 2013). This idea led to the passage of the first minimum wage law in American history, twenty five cents an hour (Greene 2013). Prior to the passage of this law, several state minimum wage laws had been struck down as an unconstitutional prohibition of workers’ rights to set the price for their own labor. However, in 1941, the Supreme Court case U.S v Darby Lumber Co upheld the federal minimum wage, overturning the precedent it had set for state level minimum wages. The Court dismissed the argument that Darby Lumber did not engage in interstate commerce based on the commerce clause and stated that Congress had the constitutional right to regulate interstate commerce, along with intrastate commerce that directly affected interstate commerce (U.S v Darby Lumber Co.1941). Justice Stone, writing for the majority stated that Congress
Preventative measures were established by Senator Robert F. Wagnerin who submitted a bill before Congress in 1933. The purpose of the bill was to eradicate unfair labor practices. Secretary of Labor Frances Perkins provided his full support for the bill. The bill was first known as the Wagner Act. It later became known as the National Labor Relations Act. Significant power was extended to the government to arbitrate in labor relations. The National Labor Relations Act significantly affected the federal government and private enterprise relationship. The NLRA was enacted by Congress on July 5, 1935. Prior to the law employers utilized the right to fire union workers. Large amounts of workers started to organize around the 1930s. a great wave
This law has had a massive effect as it now means in sport everyone is
This is all determined by the "Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 which covers all employees (with some exceptions) of companies engaged in the interstate commerce or in the production of goods for interstate commerce. The FLSAs major provisions are minimum wage, hours of work and child labor". Compensations Staff, pg. 553-554, Penn Foster. This law is based on an exempt/non-exempt basis. Most salaried positions are exempt as they are usually offered at a higher wage which is "above the exemption line of $23 600/ year." FLSA.com, Coverage under the FLSA, http://www.flsa.com/coverage.html. When a position is exempt the employer now has the ability to set the wage but not the maximum hours worked. When creating a salaried position the employee must have a set wage that cannot be adjusted based on hours worked, whether it be higher or lower than the generalized 40 hour work week. Any salaried employee must also be given a number of annual sick days, bereavement pay and holiday pay etc." .FLSA.com, Coverage under the FLSA, http://www.flsa.com/coverage.htmlThe only adjustment that may be made to the base pay must be considered permissible. An example of a permissible adjustment to the base pay would be an employee using more than their allotted sick time. It is clear that this law was created to protect workers