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Subtopics |
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The Department of Labor enforces the
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA),
which sets basic minimum wage and overtime pay standards. These standards are
enforced by the Department's Wage and Hour
Division, a program of the Employment Standards
Administration.
Workers who are covered by the FLSA are entitled to a
minimum wage of not less than
$6.55 per hour effective July 24, 2008. Overtime pay at a rate of not less than one and one-half times
their regular rate of pay is required after 40 hours of work in a workweek.
Certain exemptions apply to specific types of businesses or specific types of
work.
The FLSA does not, however, require severance pay,
sick leave,
vacations, or
holidays.
In addition to the FLSA, the Wage and Hour Division enforces other
labor laws related to wage payment. Among these are:
- the Davis-Bacon and
Related Acts, which require payment of prevailing wage rates and fringe
benefits on federally-financed or assisted construction;
- the Service Contract
Act, which requires payment of prevailing wage rates and fringe benefits on
contracts to provide services to the federal government;
- the Contract Work
Hours and Safety Standards Act, which sets overtime standards for most
federal service contracts, federally funded construction contracts, and federal
supply contracts over $100,000; and
- the Walsh-Healey Public
Contracts Act, which requires payment of minimum wage rates and overtime
pay on federal contracts to manufacture or provide goods to the federal
government.
The Family and Medical
Leave Act (FMLA) provides for up to 12 weeks of unpaid leave for certain
medical and family situations (e.g., adoption) for either the employee or a
member of the covered and eligible employee's immediate family; however, in
many instances paid leave may be substituted for unpaid FMLA leave.
The Immigration and
Nationality Act of 1990 applies to employers seeking to hire nonimmigrant
aliens as workers in specialty occupations under
H-1B visas.
Choose from the Wages subtopics list to narrow your browsing.
Also, see the Office of Compliance Assistance Policy's Web pages on
wages and hours worked.
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