Wage and Hour Laws

Here you will find information to help small businesses comply with Federal wage and hour laws.

Fair Labor Standards

The Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) establishes minimum wage, overtime pay, recordkeeping, and youth employment standards affecting employees.

• Handy Reference Guide to the Fair Labor Standards Act
  The Fair Labor Standards Act establishes minimum wage, overtime pay, recordkeeping, and youth employment standards affecting full-time and part-time workers in the private sector and in Federal, State, and local governments.
• Fair Labor Standards Act Advisor
  The FLSA Advisor provides help on complying with the minimum wage, overtime pay, child labor and recordkeeping laws enforced by the Wage and Hour Division of the Department of Labor.
• Fair Labor Standards Act : Compliance Assistance
  Compliance assistance resources from the Wage and Hour Division of the U.S. Department of Labor concerning various requirements of the Fair Labor Standards Act.
  
• Fair Labor Standards Act Overtime Security Advisor
  This tool helps workers and employers identify workers who are entitled to minimum wage and overtime pay protections.
  
• Fair Labor Standards Act Section 14(c) Advisor
  Section 14(c) of the Fair Labor Standards Act authorizes employers, after receiving a certificate from the U.S. Department of Labor's Wage and Hour Division, to pay special minimum wages wages less than the Federal minimum wage to workers who have disabilities for the work being performed. This Advisor helps to make the rules more understandable.
• Work Hours and Other Pay Issues
  Under the Fair Labor Standards Act, the term work hours generally refers to time spent by employees performing work for their employers for which they are entitled to compensation. Federal laws pertaining to work hours are enforced by the Wage and Hour Division of the U.S. Department of Labor's Employment Standards Administration. The Wage and Hour Division offers a range of guidance materials available on the subject of work hours.

Minimum Wage Laws

• State Minimum Wage Laws
  A map linking to information on state minimum wage laws.
• Minimum Wage FAQs
  Answers questions ranging from "how often does the minimum wage increase" to "who ensures that workers are paid at least the minimum wage.
• Notice to Workers Paid Special Minimum Wages
  Every employer of workers with disabilities under special minimum wage certificates authorized by the Fair Labor Standards Act, the McNamara-O'Hara Service Contract Act, and/or the Walsh-Healey Public Contracts Act shall display a poster prescribed by the U.S. Department of Labor's Wage and Hour Division explaining the conditions under which special minimum wages may be paid.

Overtime Pay

• Overtime Pay (Fair Pay Web Portal)
  The FairPay Web site is designed to help users understand the Department of Labor's overtime regulations.

Equal Pay

• Equal Pay and Compensation Discrimination
  These resources helps employees and employers understand their rights and responsibilities under Federal equal pa laws with regard to compensation discrimination.

Wage Garnishment

• Wage Garnishment Law : Compliance Assistance
  The wage garnishment provisions of the Consumer Credit Protection Act (CCPA) protect employees from discharge by their employers because their wages have been garnished for any one debt, and it limits the amount of an employee's earnings that may be garnished in any one week.
• Child Support Payments FAQs for Employers
  Frequently asked questions about an employer's responsibilities when an employee's income is ordered withheld because of child support payments.
• Employers' Guide to Child Support Payments and Income
  An employer's guide to withholding an employee's income due to outstanding child support payments.
• U.S. Department of Education Employer's Handbook for Processing Federal Administrative Wage Garnishments under the Debt Collection Improvement Act
  This handbook provides wage garnishment procedures for businesses with employees that have defaulted on student loans.

Wages Laws for Specific Types of Workers

Federal Contactors

• Wages under Federal Contracts
  The U.S. Department of Labor's Wage and Hour Division administers laws and regulations requiring minimum wages and fringe benefits to be paid to workers performing construction work on federally-funded contracts or providing services to the federal government.

Foreign Labor

• Wages under Foreign Labor Certification
  The Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) allows U.S. employers to hire foreign workers on a temporary or permanent basis to perform certain types of work. The U.S. Department of Labor's Employment and Training Administration generally grants certification to employers to obtain special visas in order to hire foreign workers in cases where there are insufficient qualified U.S. workers available and willing to perform work at wages that meet or exceed the prevailing wage paid for that occupation in the area of intended employment.

Seasonal and Migrant Workers

• Migrant and Seasonal Workers Protection Act : Compliance Assistance
  The Migrant and Seasonal Agricultural Worker Protection Act removes the restraints on commerce caused by activities detrimental to migrant and seasonal agricultural workers; requires farm labor contractors to register under this Act; and assures necessary protections for migrant and seasonal agricultural workers, agricultural associations, and agricultural employers.
• Wages in Agriculture
  This page provides information on the obligations of employers of agricultural workers, including migrant and seasonal agricultural workers.

General Resources

More information about Federal employment laws.

• FirstStep Employment Law Advisor
  The FirstStep Employment Law Advisor is designed to help employers determine which laws administered by the Department of Labor apply to their business or organization and to provide links to information about how to comply with these laws.
• Find It! By Topic : Wages
  Provides a shortcut to the information and services the Department of Labor offers on wages.
  
• Find It! By Topic : Work Hours
  Provides a shortcut to the information and services the Department of Labor offers on worked hours.
• Wages and Hours Worked
  The U.S. Department of Labor administers several laws that affect the wages and hours of covered workers. The Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) requires payment of no less than the federal minimum wage for each hour worked and time and one-half the employee's regular rate of pay for hours worked in excess of 40 in the workweek for non-exempt workers. Most migrant and seasonal workers engaged in agriculture are protected by the Migrant and Seasonal Agricultural Worker Protection Act. The Immigration and Nationality Act allows U.S. employers to hire foreign workers on a temporary or permanent basis to perform certain types of work.