The Fair Labor Standards Act ( FLSA)

[0:00]The Fair Labor Standards Act, or FLSA, is an important federal law that applies to every employer and employee in the United States that mandates minimum wages. Overtime pay, record keeping, and youth employment standards. The question of whether the rules apply to an employee is based on whether the employee is exempt from the law or non-exempt. The rules apply to non-exempt employees. There are three major areas where employers get in trouble. One, misclassifying a non-exempt employee as exempt. Two, failing to pay minimum wage, and three, failing to pay overtime. Misclassifying employees: to determine if an employee is exempt or non-exempt, there are three basic factors. One, how much money they earn. Two, the type of work they do. Three, their responsibilities and job duties. Typically, employees who are paid hourly or weekly, and have jobs that do not involve management are non-exempt, and must be paid a minimum wage and overtime. Exempt employees are generally paid an annual salary, and have jobs that involve some level of management, or high compensation, with an additional exception for computer professionals. An update to the FLSA in January of 2020 expanded the definition of the kind of employees who are non-exempt, meaning that more employees must be paid under the FLSA rules. The minimum wage for non-exempt employees in 21 states. The current federal minimum wage is $7.25 per hour. However, 29 other states and localities have minimum wage laws that require employers to pay more than the federal minimum wage. Ranging from $8 an hour to as much as $15 an hour. Overtime. Overtime must be paid to non-exempt employees for every hour worked over 40 hours per workweek at not less than one and a half times their regular pay rate of pay. There are some simple things employers can do to avoid FLSA claims. Be clear about employee job descriptions and duties. Make sure that the work being performed matches the job description. Keep accurate records. Most FLSA claims involve workers who were not paid the right rate, or not paid for all the time worked. Keep accurate records, keeping accurate records is important to respond to these claims. Pay wages when they are due. This may seem obvious, but many employees withhold employee wages and pay late, which can trigger a claim. Stay up to date with the FLSA changes. Both minimum wage rates and classification rules change frequently and could be changed at the local, state and federal levels. Put a stop to employees who work overtime off the clock. There's no such thing as off the clock work, and this is one of the number one reasons for employee claims. Do not pay employees with comp time for overtime work. This can lead to disputes over mispayments and overtime. What can happen when you do not follow the fair wage and hour rules under the FLSA? State Departments of Labor or the Federal Labor Department can sue the employer for two times the amount or more of the unpaid wages. An employee may file a lawsuit for back pay for two times the amount or more of the unpaid wages together with attorney's fees and costs of the suit. Ways to beat an FLSA claim. If an employer is threatened with a wage claim, the time to get an experienced employment litigation lawyer involved is as early as possible. Often, even when the claims are not strong, depending on the circumstances, an experienced labor lawyer can save the employer large sums of money by properly navigating and responding to an employee or former employee's claim.