Idaho Law Blog
By Lane V. Erickson, Attorney
The Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 (abbreviated as FLSA; also referred to as the Wages and Hours Bill) is a federal statute of the United States that changed employment relationships dramatically. The FLSA introduced the forty-hour workweek, established a national minimum wage, guaranteed “time-and-a-half” for overtime in certain jobs, and prohibited most employment of minors in “oppressive child labor”, a term that is defined in the statute. It applies to employees engaged in interstate commerce or employed by an enterprise engaged in commerce or in the production of goods for commerce, unless the employer can claim an exemption from coverage.
The FLSA was originally drafted in 1932 by Senator Hugo Black, who was later appointed to the Supreme Court in 1937. However, Black’s proposal to require employers to adopt a thirty-hour workweek was unpopular with employers who were used to working employees up to 12 hours a day. In 1938 a revised version of Black’s proposal was passed that adopted an eight-hour day and a forty-hour workweek and allowed workers to earn wage for an extra four hours of overtime as well. Children under eighteen were prohibited from certain dangerous jobs, and children under the age of sixteen could work during school hours.
In 1946 the United States Supreme Court ruled in Anderson v. Mt. Clemens Pottery Co. that preliminary work activities, where controlled by the employer and performed entirely for the employer’s benefit, are properly included as working time under the Fair Labor Standards Act. In response, Congress passed an amendment to FLSA narrowing the Supreme Court’s decision. The 1947 Portal-to-Portal Act specified exactly what type of time was considered compensable work time.
The full effect of the FLSA of 1938 was postponed by wartime inflation of the 1940s, which lowered wage values to below the level specified in the Act. The October 26, 1949 Fair Labor Standards Amendment included changes to overtime compensation, raised the minimum wage from 40 cents to 75 cents per hour and extended child labor coverage. It also included a few new exemptions for special worker classes.
In 1955 the FLSA was amended once again to increase minimum wage, this time to one dollar per hour. A 1961 Amendment specified that coverage was automatic for schools, hospitals, nursing homes, or other residential care facilities. Coverage was also automatic for all governmental entities at whatever level of government, no matter how big or small. The minimum wage level was again increased—this time to $1.25 per hour. What could be considered a wage was specifically defined, and entitlement to sue for back wages was granted.
The Equal Pay Act of 1963 was passed to amend the FLSA and make it illegal to pay workers lower wages strictly on the basis on their sex. It is often summed up with the phrase “equal pay for equal work”.
The 1966 FLSA Amendment expanded coverage to some farm workers and increased the minimum wage to $1.60 per hour in stages. The 1966 FLSA amendment also gave state and local government employees coverage for the first time.
The 1974 FLSA Amendment expanded coverage to include other state and local government employees that were not previously covered. Domestic workers also became covered and the minimum wage was increased to $2.30 per hour in stages.
The 1977 FLSA Amendment increased the minimum wage in yearly increments through 1981 to $3.35 an hour. Changes were made involving tipped employees and the tip credit. Partial overtime exemption was repealed in stages for certain hotel, motel, and restaurant employees.
The amendment to the FLSA enacted in 1985 permitted state and local government employers to compensate their employees’ overtime hours with paid time away from work (compensatory time or “comp time”) in lieu of overtime pay. It also included modifications to ensure that true volunteer activities were not impeded or discouraged.
The 1989 FLSA amendments increased the minimum wage to $4.25 per hour in stages. The 1996 FLSA amendment increased the minimum wage to $5.15 an hour. However, the Small Business Job Protection Act of 1996, which provided the minimum-wage increase, also detached tipped employees from future minimum-wage increases. Prior to 1996, tipped employees received 50% of the prevailing minimum wage. The tipped employee minimum wage was frozen, under federal law at least, at $2.13 per hour.
On August 23, 2004, controversial changes to the FLSA’s overtime regulations went into effect, making substantial modifications to the definition of an “exempt” employee. Low-level working supervisors throughout American industries were reclassified as “executives” and lost overtime rights. These changes were sought by business interests, which claimed that the laws needed clarification and that few workers would be affected. The Bush administration called the new regulations “FairPay”. But other organizations, such as the AFL-CIO, claimed the changes would make millions of additional workers ineligible to obtain relief under the FLSA for overtime pay. Attempts in Congress to overturn the new regulations were unsuccessful until recently. December 1, 2016, the Department of Labor’s “Final Rule” comes into effect. This rule changes the definitions of those entitled to overtime pay essentially eliminating the low-level working supervisors exemption and allowing individuals earning less than $47,476 to be covered by the FLSA regardless of their job title.
If you have questions about the FLSA, or how it may affect you individually or your business, we can help. Call us toll free at 877-232-6101 or 208-232-6101 for a consultation with Lane Erickson and the Racine Olson team of Employment Law attorneys in Idaho. You can also email Lane Erickson directly at lve@racinelaw.net. We will answer your Idaho Employment Law questions and will help you solve your Idaho Employment Law problems.
This website includes general information about legal issues and developments in the law. Such materials are for informational purposes only and may not reflect the most current legal developments. These informational materials are not intended, and must not be taken, as legal advice on any particular set of facts or circumstances. You need to contact a lawyer for advice on specific legal issues.