The Fair Labor Standards Act turns 75 today, June 25. When the law was enacted as part of Franklin Roosevelt’s New Deal policies it established the minimum wage, overtime and other labor standards that still govern today’s workplaces. Those standards turned out to be just the “baby steps” of a law that has grown to become a major part of human resources administration for employers.
The law’s core provisions — its minimum wage and overtime requirements — generally mandate that workers subject to the FLSA must be paid at least a federally mandated minimum wage and time-and-one-half that wage for hours worked in excess of 40 in a seven-day week. The law also contains provisions that define the first child labor limitations and require equal pay regardless of sex through the Equal Pay Act amendment.
These and other FLSA provisions may seem straightforward in concept, but their application is anything but simple. The FLSA contains a confusing web of exceptions and modifications of its rules that can leave employers tied in knots as they try to both manage their workforce and obey the law. Employers that fail to comply with the FLSA can face severe consequences, including U.S. Department of Labor investigations, private lawsuits, back wage and liquidated damage awards, and penalties.
A 75-year history means many of the law’s provisions are well-established; however, changing times have resulted in new challenges. The modern workplace for most workers looks nothing like the workplace of the 1930s. For example, technology such as cell phones has complicated how employers measure hours worked. New job categories have developed that are not as easily classified as a production line factory worker job may have been decades ago.
In sum, the FLSA may be a mature law, but its complexities continue to vex employers.
The federal minimum wage has made frequent appearances over the last few years in public policy debates as well. President Obama proposed raising the minimum wage to $9/hour in his 2013 State of the Union address. In remarks celebrating the FLSA’s anniversary on June 25, Vice President Biden reaffirmed the administration’s commitment to raising the minimum wage.
Defenders of the current federal minimum wage argue most workers earning that wage are young workers who don’t need to earn higher wages. However, Biden disputed that claim, pointing out that only 20 percent of minimum wage workers are teenagers — the rest are adults, many with families. He also noted that 60 percent of minimum wage earners are women.
As HR Compliance Expert marks the FLSA’s 75th anniversary, we compiled a reading list of anniversary coverage that puts the law in its historical, current and future context, as well as a series of articles that offer refreshers on perennial administrative topics that must always be part of any discussion of the FLSA. For details go here.