Child Labor

WAGE AND LABOR LAWS

Businesses that have total annual sales that equal or exceed $500,000 are regulated by federal and state laws. The federal Fair Labor Standards Act and state statutes both establish standards for minimum wage, maximum work hours, and compensation for overtime for employees. Protection for workers against exploitation is the purpose of these wage and labor laws.

Required Posters

Employers are required by federal law to post specific information posters at their place of business in a location that is clearly visible to employees. These posters must include the following information: 1. Equal Employment Opportunity Is the Law (EEOC) 2. Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) (Federal Minimum Wage) 3. State Minimum Wage Laws (if applicable) 4. Job Safety and Health Protection (OSHA) 5. Employee Polygraph Protection Act (EPPA) 6. Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act (USERRA) 7. For employers over 50 employees: Employee Rights and Responsibilities Under the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA)

The United States Department of Labor website FirstStep Poster advisor provides direction on the specific posters that are required by the federal government and allows you to download them for printing (http://www.dol.gov/elaws/posters.htm). These posters can also be purchased from compliance companies like G Neil (www.gneil.com), who provide updates on the federal and state required posters. Your state government may require other posters.

More information about laws that apply to your business is available from local offices (which are listed under “U.S. Government, Department of Labor, Employment Standards Administration, Wage and Hour Division”)

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Wage and Labor Laws (continued)

The Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA)

The Wage and Hour Division of the U.S. Department of Labor administers the Fair Labor Standards Act. Among its provisions are the following:

Wages

1. Effective July 24, 2009, the federal minimum wage for covered, nonexempt employees increased to $7.25 per hour according to the FLSA. Many states also have minimum wage laws in place requiring employers to pay a higher minimum wage than that mandated by FLSA (For Example, the state of Florida is $7.79 per hour and California increased the minimum wage to $8.00 per hour).

2. The FLSA provides for the employment of certain individuals at wage rates below the minimum wage. These individuals include student-learners (vocational education students), as well as full-time students employed by retail or service establishments, agriculture, or institutions of higher education. Also included are individuals, whose earning or productive capacity for the work to be performed is impaired by a physical or mental disability, including those related to age or injury.

3. The youth minimum wage is authorized by the FLSA and allows employers to pay employees under 20 years of age a lower wage for 90 calendar days after they are first employed. Any wage rate above $4.25 an hour may be paid to eligible workers during this 90-day period, although state minimum wage requirements may override the FLSA.

NOTE: Eligible employees may be paid the youth wage up to the day before their 20th birthday. On and after their 20th birthday, their pay must be raised to no less than the applicable minimum wage.

Hours

1. A work week consists of 168 hours, divided into seven 24-hour periods. 2. Overtime is work in excess of 40 hours per workweek (though not necessarily in excess of eight hours per day). 3. Overtime compensation is one and one-half times the employee’s regular hourly pay rate. 4. Certain executive, administrative, outside sales, and professional employees are exempt from overtime provisions.

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