The Fair Labor Standards Act offers multiple benefits to workers within the public and private sectors. Under the law, employees enjoy rights in all aspects of their work. The law regulates the minimum wage, recordkeeping responsibilities and overtime pay. Employers who violate the employment laws may be subjected to criminal and civil penalties. To learn more about your rights under the FLSA, contact the law firm of Swartz Swidler.
The right to a minimum wage
The FLSA regulates the minimum amount of money that employers are allowed to pay their non-exempt workers. These rules are important because they ensure that workers understand the minimum amount of money that they are guaranteed to earn. Tipped employees may be paid a lower minimum hourly rate as long as their tips are enough to bring their total hourly wage to at least the federal minimum wage. Employers must make up the difference if their employees’ tips do not reach or exceed the minimum wage.
Reasonable work hours
The FLSA also establishes reasonable working hours for workers. Workers who are younger than 16 are limited on the number of hours that they are able to work on both school and non-school days. If workers work more than 40 hours during a workweek, their employers must pay them overtime pay for the additional hours that is equal to one-and-one-half times the workers’ normal hourly rates.
Compliance rules
Employers must comply with the FLSA and with other employment laws. It would be difficult to handle unfair work practices without the FLSA. The law requires the employers to keep records and to comply with its provisions.
Equal pay for equal work
The Equal Pay Act, which was an amendment to the FLSA, establishes that employers may not pay workers different wages for the same work on the basis of gender. Even if the job titles are different, jobs that require the same skills, level of education and duties must be compensated equally regardless of the sex of the workers.
Contact an attorney
If you believe that your rights under the FLSA have been violated by your employer, it is important for you to get legal help. Contact the attorneys at Swartz Swidler to schedule your consultation by filling out our contact form. We will get back to you shortly.
