3 branches of gov’t
- legislative
- executive
- judicidal
legislative
- headed by congress
- enacts/passes laws
executive branch
- headed by president
- enforces laws
judicidal branch
- headed by supreme court
- interprets law
- supreme court is the court of final appeal
1938: Fair Labor Standards (FLSA)
sets min wage, hours worked, overtime; prohibits child labor
1963: equal pay act
equal pay for men and women doing ‘substantially similar’ work
title VII of civil right act of 1964
prohibits discrimination on basis of race, sex, color, religion, OR national origin
1967: age discrimination in employment act (ADEA)
protects employees 40 and older from age discrimination
1978: pregnancy discrimination act (PDA)
pregnancy must be covered as a medical condition
1990: american w/ disabilities act (ADA)
must accommodate a person able to fulfill ‘essential elements’ of a job
1993: family and medical leave act (FMLA)
up to 12 weeks of unpaid leave for family/medical emergencies
2000: worker economic opportunity act
overtime pay does not have to include a stock plan income
2009: lilly ledbetter fair pay act
employers liable for pay loss resulting from discrimination
FLSA
- which employees are covered?
- what are the major provisions included?
- Covers all employees of companies engaged in interstate commerce or in the production of goods for interstate commerce.
- Major provisions include: minimum wage, hours of work (including overtime), and child labor. Records must be kept of employees, their hours worked, and their pay
- min wage rate
- training wage
- FLSA establishes a minimum wage of $7.25 per hour effective July 24, 2009.
- FLSA also permits a lower “training wage”:
- paid to workers under age of 20 for up to 90 days
- approximately 85% of minimum wage
- Tipped wages
how many states have minimum wages higher than federal states?
over half
if state and federal laws cover the same job which rate is used?
the higher rate
do cities and countries have min wage ordinances?
Yes!
as of july 1, 2022, chicago:
- 15.40/h for employers w/ 21 or more workers
- 14.50/h for employers w/ 4-20 workers
tipped wages
- According to the DOL, a tipped employee engages in an occupation in which he or she customarily and regularly receives more than $30 per month in tips.
-An employer of a tipped employee is only required to pay $2.13 per hour in direct wages if that amount combined with the tips received at least equals the federal minimum wage.
- If the employees’ tips combined with the employers’ direct wages of at least $2.13 per hour do not equal the federal minimum hourly wage, the employer must make up the difference.
- Many states require higher direct wage amounts for tipped employees
overtime and hours of work
- FLSA requires overtime rate at 1.5 times employees’ usual hourly rate for time spent on work above 40 hours/week.
- The usual hourly rate includes regular bonuses, and piece-rate payments.
- Stock plan income is exempted; gifts or special-occasion bonuses are not included
computing overtime pay:
An employee works at a manufacturing company and worked 50 hours last week. The employee’s base rate of salary is $12 per hour, and this employee also earned a weekly bonus of $40 last week. How much overtime pay should this employee receive for the last week?
pay for 40 hrs: 40*12= 480 + 40 = $520
hourly rate: 520/40= $13
overtime rate: 13*1.5 = $19.50
overtime pay: $19.50*10= $195
total pay for week: $520 + $195 = $715
exempt employees
managers, outside salespeople, and other employees not covered by FLSA requirement for overtime pay.
- Salary test: $684/week
nonexempt employees
employees covered by FLSA requirements for overtime pay
- Manual laborers or other blue-collar workers;
- Police, firefighters, paramedics, and other first responders
when is overtime pay required?
- Overtime pay is required, whether or not the employer specifically asked or expected the employee to work more than 40 hours.
- If the employer knows the employee is working overtime but does not pay overtime rate, the employer may be violating the FLSA
