EMPLOYMENT
STANDARDS ADMINISTRATION, DEPARTMENT OF LABOR
AUTHORIZATION:
Fair
Labor Standards Act, Public Law 75-718, as amended, 29 U.S.C. 201-219;
Walsh-Healey Public Contracts Act, Public Law 74-846, as amended,
41 U.S.C. 35-45; McNamara-O'Hara Service Contract Act of 1965, Public
Law 89-286, as amended, 41 U.S.C. 351 et seq.; Davis-Bacon Act,
40 U.S.C. 276a et seq.; Contract Work Hours and Safety Standards
Act, 40 U.S.C. 327 et seq.; Copeland Act, 18 U.S.C. 874, as amended;
40 U.S.C. 276C; National Foundation on the Arts and the Humanities
Act of 1965, 20 U.S.C. 954(3), as amended; Employee Polygraph Protection
Act of 1988, Public Law 100-347, 29 U.S.C. 2001; Immigration and
Nationality Act, as amended; Immigration Reform and Control Act
of 1986, Public Law 99-603, 8 U.S.C. 1324, 8 U.S.C. 1101(a)(15)(H)(ii)(a),
1160, 1161, 1184(c) and 1186, 1824, 29 U.S.C. 1802, 1813(a); Immigration
Nursing Relief Act, Public Law 101-238, Section 212(m), 8 U.S.C.
1182(M); Immigration Act of 1990, Public Law 101-649, 8 U.S.C. 1101,
et seq; Miscellaneous and Technical Immigration and Naturalization
Amendments, Public Law 102-232; Family and Medical Leave Act of
1993, Public Law 103-3, 107 Stat. 6.
To
provide standards protecting wages of working persons by requiring
a minimum hourly wage rate and overtime pay, or prevailing hourly
wage rates, fringe benefits and overtime pay under the Government
Contract Acts. Additional standards apply to child labor, to wage
payment standards for professional performers and related or supporting
professional employees of productions assisted by grants from the
National Endowments for the Arts and Humanities, to curtail employer
use of lie detector tests, including polygraph tests, for pre-employment
screening or during the course of employment and to enforce contractual
obligations regarding wages and other working conditions between
certain temporary, alien agricultural workers (H-2A) and their employers,
to require the reporting of information about work performed by
special agricultural workers employed in seasonal agricultural services
and the enforcement of provisions concerning terms of employment
of replenishment of agricultural workers, to enforce the employment
conditions attested to by employers of H-1A temporary alien nonimmigrant
registered nurses, to enforce worker protection provisions applicable
to foreign students, nonimmigrant workers in "specialty occupations"
and foreign crew members performing longshore work, and to require
private employers with 50 or more employees and all public employers
to provide eligible employees up to 12 weeks of unpaid leave, job
restoration, and continued health insurance due to personal illness,
the birth or adoption of a child or for the care of a child, spouse
or parent with a serious health condition.
TYPES
OF ASSISTANCE:
Advisory Services and Counseling. Place Cursor Here for Definition
Investigation of Complaints. Place Cursor Here for Definition
USES
AND USE RESTRICTIONS:
Federal
wage and hour standards apply generally to employees engaged in
interstate or foreign commerce or in the production of goods for
such commerce or in enterprises so engaged and, in addition, to
employees of Federal, State and local governments. Generally, for
covered employment the minimum hourly wage is $5.15 per hour (effective
September 1, 1997) with time and one-half the regular rate of pay
required for hours worked over 40 in a workweek. There are special
rules applicable to employees of State and local governments, including
provisions concerning volunteer work, compensatory time-off, and
outside employment. To the extent necessary to prevent curtailment
of employment opportunity, certificates authorizing special minimum
wage rates are issued for learners, workers with disabilities, full-time
students, student workers, and apprentices. In nonagricultural employment,
the basic minimum age is 16 years for general employment, 14 for
work outside school hours in certain occupations under specified
conditions, and 18 in occupations found hazardous by the Secretary.
In agricultural employment, the basic minimum age is 16 years during
school hours and in occupations found hazardous by the Secretary;
otherwise, age 14 for work outside school hours except for 12- and
13-year-olds with written parental consent or on farms where their
parents are employed, or under age 12 with written parental consent
on a farm not subject to Federal minimum wage or under a limited
waiver for local 10- and 11-year-old hand-harvesters of short-season
crops under specified conditions. Failure to comply with the child
labor provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act or regulations
issued thereunder may result in an assessment of a civil money penalty
not to exceed $10,000 for each minor involved in violations. Employees
of contractors performing on most federally financed or assisted
construction projects, or providing services under contract to Federal
agencies, are subject to special standards. These special standards
require that employees receive no less than the wages and fringe
benefits prevailing in the locality as determined by the Secretary
of Labor, and that overtime compensation, with few exceptions, be
paid for hours worked on such contracts in excess of 40 in a week.
The standards apply to performance on direct Federal contracts and
also to most construction projects financed in whole or in part
by the Federal Government (e.g., projects under the National Housing
Act). Under current law, for Federal and federally assisted construction
contracts over $2,000 and Federal service contracts over $2,500
subject to prevailing wage requirements, contracting agencies must
obtain a wage determination issued by the Wage and Hour Division.
Also under current law, employees working on Federal contracts in
excess of $10,000 calling for the manufacture or furnishing of supplies
are required to be paid not less than the Federal minimum wage and
overtime pay for hours worked in excess of 40 a week. Labor standards
are set under the Arts and Humanities Act which require the payment
of the prevailing minimum compensation as determined by the Secretary
of Labor to professional performers or supporting personnel who
work on projects or productions assisted by grants from the National
Endowments for the Arts and Humanities. The Employee Polygraph Protection
Act prohibits most private employers from administering lie detector
tests to employees or prospective employees but permits the use
of polygraph tests under certain conditions. The H-2A provisions
of the Immigration and Nationality Act provide for the enforcement
of contractual obligations concerning wages and other working conditions
between certain temporary, alien agricultural workers and their
employers. Section 212(M) of the Immigration an Nationality Act
provides for the enforcement of employment conditions attested to
by employers of H-1A temporary alien nonimmigrant registered nurses.
Section 203 of the Immigration Act of 1990 places limitations on
the performance of Longshore work by alien crew members in U.S.
ports; Section 206(c) places limitations on the employment of nonimmigrant
workers in H-1B Specialty Occupations; and Section 221 places limitations
on the employment of foreign students on F-Visas in off campus work.
The Family and Medical Leave Act requires a private employer of
50 or more employees and all public employers to grant up to 12
weeks of unpaid leave in a 12-month period to any employee who was
employed at least 12 months for 1,250 hours of service during the
preceding 12 months, and is employed at a work site where there
are 50 employees within 75 miles.
ELIGIBILITY
REQUIREMENTS:
Applicant
Eligibility: Any covered employee, unless specifically
exempt, is entitled to be paid in accordance with applicable monetary
standards in the United States, District of Columbia, Puerto Rico,
Virgin Islands, American Samoa, Guam, Wake Island, Johnston Island,
and the Outer Continental Shelf Lands defined in the Outer Continental
Shelf Lands Act. (Geographic application varies under the respective
statutes and eligibility is dependent upon specific statutory language.)
For family and medical leave, coverage includes any employer with
50 or more employees but excludes any employer at a worksite with
fewer than 50 employees within a 75-mile radius.
Pre-application
Coordination: None. This program is excluded
from coverage under E.O. 12372.
Application
Procedure: Persons having knowledge of wage
and employment practices which are not in compliance with the
minimum standards of these acts, and persons requesting additional
information concerning these standards, should contact the nearest
office of the Wage and Hour Division, listed in the telephone
Directory under United States Government, Labor Department. If
no listing is shown for your locality, contact the nearest district
office of the Wage and Hour Division listed in Appendix IV of
the Catalog under the Employment Standards Administration. Information
should be provided describing the type of business and the nature
of the work performed. Unless otherwise authorized, the names
of persons making inquiries are kept confidential to the maximum
extent possible under existing law. For Federal construction contracts
or Federal service contracts subject to revailing wage requirements,
the contracting agency must obtain a wage determination issued
by the Wage and Hour Division. The wage determination must be
furnished to bidders and made a part of the contract along with
certain contract stipulations.
Award
Procedure: Not applicable.
Deadlines:
For most of the Acts, a 2-year statute of limitations applies
to the recovery of back wages; in the case of willful violations,
a three-year limitation applies. Any action against an employer
for violation of the Employee Polygraph Protection Act must be
filed within three years of the alleged violation. There is no
statute of limitations with respect to enforcement of the H-1A
and H-2A provisions or Section 210A of the Immigration and Nationality
Act.
Range
of Approval/Disapproval Time: Not applicable.
Appeals:
An appeal process is available where child labor civil money penalties
are assessed, where civil money penalties are assessed for minimum
wage and overtime violations, and under the Government contracts
statutes.
Renewals:
Not applicable.
ASSISTANCE
CONSIDERATIONS:
Formula
and Matching Requirements: Not applicable.
Length
and Time Phasing of Assistance: Not applicable.
POST
ASSISTANCE REQUIREMENTS:
Reports:
Federal and federally assisted construction contractors must submit
information with respect to wages paid to contracting agencies.
Audits:
Not applicable.
Records:
Not applicable.
FINANCIAL
INFORMATION:
Account
Identification: 16-0105-0-1-505.
Obligations:
(Salaries and Expenses) FY 01 $152,560,000; FY 02 est $155,626,000;
and FY 03 est $155,387,000. Note: Includes obligations for Wage
Garnishment, Fair Labor Standards, Government Contract Labor Standards,
Migrant and Seasonal Agricultural Worker Protection, and Family
and Medical Leave Acts.
Range
and Average of Financial Assistance: Not applicable.
In fiscal year 2001, 242,775 employees were found to be underpaid
for a total of $159,053,417. Additionally, employers agreed to restore
$131,954,657 in back wages illegally withheld to 216,647 employees.
Under Wage and Hour statutes, civil money penalties of $9,566,000
were collected in fiscal year 2001.
REGULATIONS,
GUIDELINES, AND LITERATURE:
Publications furnished free in limited quantities: "Handy Reference
Guide to the Fair Labor Standards Act," "A Guide to the Walsh-Healey
Public Contracts Act," "Guide to the Service Contract Act," "A Guide
to the Child Labor Provisions of the FLSA" (Nonagricultural and
Agricultural Occupations) "Compliance Guide to the Family and Medical
Leave Act." Additional technical and nontechnical materials are
also available at no cost.
INFORMATION
CONTACTS:
Regional
or Local Office: Persons having knowledge of
wage and employment practices which are not in compliance with the
minimum standards of these acts, and persons requesting information
or publications should contact the nearest office of the Wage and
Hour Division, listed in the telephone directory under United States
Government, Labor Department. If no listing is shown for your locality,
contact the nearest district office of the Wage and Hour Division
listed in Appendix IV of the Catalog under the Employment Standards
Administration.
Headquarters
Office: Administrator, Wage and Hour Division,
Employment Standards Administration, Department of Labor, Washington,
DC 20210. Telephone: (202) 693-0051.
