Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA)
The Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) is a United States Federal law that
was enacted in 1938. Amendments have been made to this law since it was
passed. It establishes minimum wage, overtime pay, recordkeeping, and child
labor standards affecting full-time and part-time workers in the private
sector and in Federal, State, and local governments. The FLSA provides for
minimum standards for both wages and overtime entitlements and specifies
administrative procedures by which covered work-time must be compensated.
- An employee's FLSA status is determined by a Human Resources
Specialist and is based on the type of position (e.g., executive,
administrative, professional, technical, clerical, and other) and the
nature of the duties and responsibilities of the position. The OF-8,
Position Description cover sheet, contains a box that is checked by the
HR Specialist to indicate whether the position is non-exempt or exempt
from the FLSA. An employee in:
- a nonexempt position is covered by the minimum wage and overtime
provisions of the Act.
- an exempt position is not covered by the minimum wage and
overtime provisions of the Act.
- a position designated as nonexempt is entitled to overtime pay
at 1.5 times his/her regular pay for all hours of work over 8 in a
day or 40 hours in a workweek. Overtime pay for an employee in an
exempt position is capped at 1.5 times the GS-10 step 1 pay rate.