Understanding The Purpose Of The Fair Labor Standards Act In Florida

What Is The Purpose Of The Fair Labor Standards Act In Florida?

The purpose of the Fair Labor Standards Act in Florida is to ensure employers do not take advantage of employees – especially hourly employees – and compensate them fully and fairly for their actual time worked.

Who Is Covered By The Fair Labor Standards Act?

The Fair Labor Standard Act covers those not deemed exempt from the act. As an example, most hourly employees are covered by the Fair Labor Standards Act.

Employees need to be directly involved in interstate commerce or work for an enterprise than involves goods used in commerce in a business grossing $500,000, or more. For practical purposes, most employers that gross $500,000 a year or more have enterprise coverage, which would provide Fair Labor Standards Act protection for their employees.

What Are Common Ways Employers Violate The Fair Labor Standards Act?

One of the most common violations of the Fair Labor Standards Act is failing to pay overtime when employees work more than 40 hours in a work week. Some other common violations include not fully compensating employees for their actual time engaged in work on the premises. In addition, employers sometimes violate the Act by having employees perform substantial work unrelated to their primary tasks. As an example, some employers tip waiters and waitresses who are charged with doing an excessive amount of work that is not categorized as payable by tips, such as cleaning. Rather than pay their fair wage for someone to clean their premise, they attempt to get a tipped employee to do it for much less.

When Should I Hire A Labor And Employment Law Attorney If I Believe My Employer Is In Violation Of The Fair Labor Standards Act?

When and how to involve a lawyer in a Fair Labor Standards Act issue depends on a few factors. In general, I would encourage you to first, in good faith, communicate with your employer about how your pay is being mishandled. If you and your employer fail to reach an agreement or a prompt remedy after doing so, a lawyer can help lay an appropriate predicate to file a lawsuit. It will likely be greeted warmly by the court as opposed to if you do not make a good faith attempt to try and resolve the matter before litigation.

What Are The Basic Minimum Wage Requirements Under The Fair Labor Standard Act?

The Fair Labor Standards Act is predicated upon a minimum wage based on the federal minimum wage. As you may know, this is indexed annually. As of the time of recording (2023), there is a threshold requirement where any employees who otherwise would meet the exceptions to the Fair Labor Standards Act, including the executive and administrative exceptions, must be paid a base rate of not less than $684 a week to qualify as a salaried employee.

Does The Fair Labor Standard Act Require Employers To Pay Overtime? If So, What Are The Overtime Payment Requirements?

Employees subject to the Fair Labor Standards Act are required to be paid their regular base wages for each and every hour up to 40 hours per week. Beyond this, they must be paid time and a half. If employees are not paid the time and a half they are due, they can receive, in the discretion of the court, liquidated damages in an equal amount of overtime. As a result, those not paid properly for overtime can conceivably be paid double time for overtime work.

Are There Any Exemptions To The Fair Labor Standards Act Minimum Wage And Overtime Requirements?

There are many exemptions to the Fair Labor Standards Act. The most common is the administrative and executive function exemptions, which require a base salary of at least $684 a week plus the employees demonstrating that they are performing bona fide executive or administrative work.

There are also exceptions for:

• Highly compensated employees who earn more than $107,000 a year.
• Computer programmers and those who do other computer-related work.
• Bona fide outside salespeople.

Although these are the most common exemptions, there are other less common examples. If you need to find out about them, contacting a labor and employment law attorney will provide the information you need.

For more information on the Purpose Of The Fair Labor Standards Act In FL, a free initial consultation is your next best step. Get the information and legal answers you are seeking by calling (386) 388-6260 today.