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More than 130
million American workers are protected (or "covered") by the
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), which is enforced by the
Wage and Hour Division
of the
U.S. Department of Labor.
The FLSA controls the wages and
hours an employee is allowed to work each workweek
It sets a minimum wage standard, provides for maximum hours to
be worked, and requires that overtime pay be paid to employees
working
in excess of 40 hours per week.
It also provides rules and penalties for unpaid wages. Finally,
the FLSA contains specific rules for child employees, new
employees who are less than 20 years old, and the unequal pay
based upon the sex of the employee (The Equal Pay Act).
This area of
practice is extremely complicated. If you believe you have not
been paid correctly, if you believe you are due overtime, if you
believe you are being paid less than a male/female counter-part,
or you have outstanding unpaid wages,
you should immediately contact an attorney in your area for
further consultation.
Federal
Minimum Wage:
On May 25, 2007, President
George W. Bush signed legislation increasing the federal minimum
wage. The new federal minimum wage
for covered
nonexempt employees
increases in a three-step process as follows:
·
$5.85 – July 24, 2007
·
$6.55 – July 24, 2008
·
$7.25 – July 24, 2009
Florida Minimum Wage:
Florida by voter approval has a higher minimum wage for
employees. As of January 1, 2007,
Florida's minimum wage is $6.67
per hour. The minimum wage applies to all employees in the
state who are covered by the federal minimum wage.
Employers of "tipped employees" who meet eligibility
requirements for the tip credit under the FLSA, may count tips
actually received as wages under the FLSA. However, the employer
must pay "tipped employees" a direct wage. The direct wage is
calculated as equal to the minimum wage ($6.67) minus the 2003
tip credit ($3.02), or a direct hourly wage of $3.65 as of
January 1, 2007.
Employers must pay their
employees the hourly state minimum wage for all hours worked in
Florida. The definitions of "employer," "employee" and "wage"
for state purposes are the same as those established under the
federal Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA).
Which
Minimum Standard Applies:
In deciding whether the federal
or state minimum wage applies, federal law directs that
businesses must pay the higher of the two. The Florida minimum
wage will prevail over the federal rate until such time as the
federal minimum wage becomes higher than the state rate.
Who is Covered by the FLSA:
There are two
ways in which an employee can be covered by the law: "enterprise
coverage" and "individual coverage."
Enterprise Coverage:
Employees who
work for certain businesses or organizations (or "enterprises")
are covered by the FLSA. These enterprises, which must have at
least two employees, are:
(1) those that
have an annual dollar volume of sales or business done of at
least $500,000;
(2) hospitals,
businesses providing medical or nursing care for residents,
schools and preschools, and government agencies.
Individual Coverage:
Even when there
is no enterprise coverage, employees are protected by the FLSA
if their work regularly involves them in commerce between States
("interstate commerce"). The FLSA covers individual workers who
are "engaged in commerce or in the production of goods for
commerce."
(1) Examples of
employees who are involved in interstate commerce include those
who: produce goods (such as a worker assembling components in a
factory or a secretary typing letters in an office) that will be
sent out of state, regularly make telephone calls to persons
located in other States, handle records of interstate
transactions, travel to other States on their jobs, and do
janitorial work in buildings where goods are produced for
shipment outside the State.
(2) Also,
domestic service workers (such as housekeepers, full-time
babysitters, and cooks) are normally covered by the law.
Exemptions:
There are many positions and job types that are not covered by
the FLSA. Some of these positions have exceptions, while others
do not.
Because
there are so many exempted positions and the exceptions are very
complicated, you should consult an attorney to determine if you
are considered an exempt employee or whether you fit within an
exception to the exemption.
Some of the categories of
exempt employees cover those individuals who are employed in
· a
bona fide executive, administrative, or professional capacity
(including any employee employed in the capacity of academic
administrative personnel or teacher in elementary or secondary
schools), or
· in
the capacity of outside salesman; or
· any
employee employed by an establishment which is an amusement or
recreational establishment, organized camp, or religious or
nonprofit educational conference center; or
· any
employee employed in the catching, taking, propagating,
harvesting, cultivating, or farming of any type of fish,
shellfish, crustacea, sponges, seaweeds or other aquatic forms
of animal and vegetable life or in the first processing, canning
or packing any of these products; or
· any
employee employed in agriculture.
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