Wages and Hours
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Subminimum
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Frequently Asked Questions |
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The Fair Labor Standards Act
(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 is impaired by a physical or mental
disability, including those related to age or injury, for the work to be
performed.
Employment at less than the minimum wage is designed to prevent the loss
of employment opportunities for these individuals. Certificates issued by the
U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) Employment Standards Administration's Wage and Hour Division are
required for this type of employment.
The youth minimum
wage, authorized by the FLSA, 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.
BASIC INFORMATION
FACT SHEETS
E-TOOLS
Every covered employer must keep certain records for each non-exempt worker. The Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) requires no particular form for the records, but does require that the records include certain identifying information about the employee and data about the hours worked and the wages earned. For a listing of the basic records that an employer must maintain, see the FLSA recordkeeping fact sheet.
Prior to paying an employed person the subminimum wage, as allowed under certain provisions of the FLSA, employers may have to apply for a certificate from the U. S. Department of Labor. See the form instructions page for additional information.
- The Fair Labor Standards
Act (FLSA) - Establishes minimum wages, overtime pay, record keeping and
child labor standards for private sector and government workers.
- 29 CFR Part 519 - Regulations on the employment of full-time students at subminimum wages.
- 29 CFR Part 520 - Regulations on the employment of learners, apprentices, and others.
- 29 CFR Part 525 - Regulations on the employment of workers with disabilities.
- State Labor Offices - When the state laws differ from the federal Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), an employer must
comply with the standard most protective to employees.
- State Labor Laws
- Employment Standards Administration (ESA)
Wage and Hour Division
200 Constitution Avenue, NW
Room S-3502
Washington, DC 20210
Contact WHD
Tel: 1-866-4USWAGE (1-866-487-9243)
TTY: 1-877-889-5627
Local Offices
- For questions on other DOL laws,
please call DOL's
Toll-Free Help Line at 1-866-4-USA-DOL. Live assistance is available in English
and Spanish, Monday through Friday from 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. Eastern Time.
Additional service is available in more than 140 languages through a
translation service. Tel: 1-866-4-USA-DOL
TTY: 1-877-889-5627
*Pursuant to the U.S. Department of Labor's Confidentiality Protocol
for Compliance Assistance Inquiries, information provided by a telephone caller
will be kept confidential within the bounds of the law. Compliance assistance
inquiries will not trigger an inspection, audit, investigation, etc.
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