Primary Requirements of FLSA

• The FLSA ensures that employees receive a minimum wage per hour of work. The minimum wage increased to $7.25 an hour in July 2009 and remained at that level as of April 2011. The law also mandates overtime compensation, at a rate of 1 1/2 times an employee's standard pay, for all labor beyond 40 hours per week. Employers also must follow stricter rules when employing minors, including limiting hours for minors younger than 16 and prohibiting minors younger than 18 from working in hazardous occupations. Finally, employers must keep records, including basic personal information, wages and time worked, for all employees.
  
  

What FLSA Does Not Require

• Many common benefits of employment are actually available only by the employer's choice or through collective bargaining with a labor union. According to the FLSA, perks such as paid vacation time, sick leave, holiday pay and severance pay are optional. Employers also do not have to provide meal or rest breaks, days off on holidays or premium pay for employees who work holidays or weekends. Employers can discharge employees without providing advance notice or a reason, and can schedule employees to work an unlimited number of hours.
  
  

Whom the FLSA Does Not Cover

• Small, local businesses might not have to follow the wage laws and other terms of the FLSA, which covers all public employers, hospitals and schools, as well as private employers with yearly gross sales of $500,000 or more. If a private employer does less than that in revenue, FLSA stipulations do not apply --- except to individual employees whose work involves interstate commerce in any form. Covered employers can receive exemptions to the minimum wage and overtime requirements for some employees, including salaried workers who work in white-collar jobs as defined by federal regulations.
  
  

Other Relevant Labor Laws

• The Family and Medical Leave Act establishes the circumstances in which employers must allow employees to take time off without jeopardizing their job status. The law grants up to 12 weeks off for employees who meet eligibility requirements and need to take leave after adopting a child or giving birth, or because of a serious health condition or immediate family member's serious health condition. The Davis-Bacon and Related Act and Service Contract Act set terms and conditions for employees in federally-funded contract jobs such as infrastructure projects. The Migrant and Seasonal Agricultural Worker Project Act defines standards for wages, housing, transportation and other aspects of employment for those groups of workers.