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Special points of interest:

· Understanding the Fair Labor Standards Act

· Exempt or Non-Exempt?

· What is “Overtime”?

· Can I Get “Comp Time”?

In this issue:

The Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA)  was originally passed into law in 1938, with the regulations of the Act revised August 23, 2004.  Compliance with FLSA is critical as current and former employees can file claims against employers for up to 3 years for suspected willful violations and up to 2 years against employers found to be acting in “good faith”.   For willful violation, penalties for non-compliance may include individual criminal penalties of up to $10,000 in fines, up to six months imprisonment, or both, and civil penalties of $1,100 per violation.  Employers will be liable for unpaid wages plus an equal  amount as liquidated damages, and may also be liable for attorney fees and court costs.  

The Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA)  requires employers to: 

· Pay at least the minimum wage of $5.15 per hour to all non-exempt employees for all hours worked.  (The Act does permits the employment of student learners/vocational education students at wage rates below the statutory minimum.  Virginia Western pays no less than minimum wage.)

· Pay at least one and one-half times the employee’s regular rate of pay for all hours worked over 40 in the workweek, unless the employee is otherwise exempt.

· Comply with the child labor standards, and

· Employers must keep records of wages, hours, and other information 

The Act does not limit the number of hours in a day or the number of days in a week that an employer may require an employee to work, as long as the employee is at least 16 years old.  Similarly, the Act does not limit the number of hours of overtime that may be scheduled.  However, the Act requires employers to pay non-exempt employees not less than one and one-half times their regular rate of pay for all hours worked in excess of 40 hours in the workweek.   Intent of the law is to make overtime a penalty to the employer rather than a bonus for employees. 

 

Introduction

 January 29, 2007

Volume 1, Issue 1

Supervisor Round Table Work Sessions

The supervisor round table work sessions are designed to provide our supervisors with hands-on leadership training using an open-forum approach to meet the immediate and individual  needs of our supervisors. We will...

· Discuss the concepts and skills that a supervisor uses in their daily responsibilities including: managerial concepts, policy interpretation and administration in the critical areas of employment law: performance management, discipline and employee relations, workplace violence and   harassment, discrimination, Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA), safety and workers’ compensation, wage and hour/labor law, etc.

· Learn from each other as we explore the many issues of supervision and the skills required to be successful.

· Sharpen Skills—work sessions are designed to build on each other on topics identified by participants, on common themes and/or current issues, changes in policy, and/or recent events.

 

 

 

 

Understanding the Fair Labor Standards Act