Employment laws are enacted for following rules and regulations for both employees and employers. The United States enacted the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) by the Wage and Hour Division in 1938. It deals with the minimum wage and overtime pay offered to full-time and part-time workers in federal, state, local governments as well as the private sectors.
The act is applicable for employees who work under organizations having two or more employees. The organization must do at least $500,000 per year in businesses or hospitals.
A minimum wage of not less than $7.25 per hour is to be paid to the employees and was effective as on July 24, 2009. The employees can be paid on a piece-rate basis as long as they receive at least the equivalent of the required minimum hourly wage rate and overtime for hours worked in excess of 40 hours in a workweek.
The number of hours in a day or a week that an employer require an employee to work is not limited for employees who are at least 16 years of age. The number of hours worked overtime is also not limited by the Act. Not less than one and one-half times the regular rate of pay is paid for overtime work for all hours worked in excess of 40 in a workweek.
The employers must track the record of employee information including name, address, birth-date, gender, regular hourly pay rate, total overtime earnings for the workweek, date of pay period and so on. These records are verified by the representatives of the Wage and Hour division.
Violations in these issues may result in criminal prosecution and a fine up to $10,000. Civil money penalties of up to $1,100 per violation are resulted for those who violate the minimum wage and overtime requirements willfully or repeatedly. Employers are subjected to civil penalty of up to $11,000 per worker for each violation of the child labor provisions.