Wage and Hour Standards

 

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; to enforce standards to protect the terms and conditions of employment for migrant and seasonal agricultural workers; to enforce provisions requiring the provision of potable drinking water, handwashing and toilet facilities; to enforce contractual obligations regarding wages and other working conditions between certain temporary, alien agricultural workers (H-2A) and their employers; to enforce worker protection provisions applicable to nonimmigrant workers in "specialty occupations" (H-1B), foreign workers as registered nurses in health professional shortage areas (H-1C), nonagricultural labor or services of temporary or seasonal nature (H-2B), and foreign crew members performing longshore work; to require private employers with 50 or more employees and all schools and public employers to provide eligible employees up to 12 weeks of unpaid leave, job restoration, and continued employer provided health insurance due to the employee's serious health condition, the birth of or placement for adoption/foster care of a child, for the care of a child, spouse or parent with a serious health condition or for any "qualifying exigency" arising out of the fact that the employee's spouse, son, daughter, or parent is on active military duty, or has been notified of an impending call or order to active military duty in support of a contingency operation (provided the active duty relates to a military member of the National Guard or Reserves), or require these same employers to provide up to 26 weeks of unpaid leave, job restoration, and continued employer provided health insurance to an eligible employee who is a spouse, son, daughter, parent, or next of kin of a covered service member with a serious injury or illness.

Deleted 04/02/2020 (Archived.) 17.303 Agency: Department of Labor
Office: Wage and Hour Division ADVISORY SERVICES AND COUNSELING; INVESTIGATION OF COMPLAINTS Fiscal Year 2009: Not Applicable. Fiscal Year 2010: Not Applicable. Fiscal Year 2011: Not Applicable. 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. 351-358.; Davis-Bacon Act, Public Law 74-403, as amended, 40 U.S.C., Chapter 31, Subpart IV.; Contract Work Hours and Safety Standards Act, Public Law 87-581, as amended, 40 U.S.C. 3701-3708.; Copeland Act, Public Law 103-322, 18 U.S.C. 874, as amended; 40 U.S.C. 314.5; National Foundation on the Arts and the Humanities Act of 1965, Public Law 82-209, as amended, 20 U.S.C. 954(i) and 956(a); Employee Polygraph Protection Act of 1988, Public Law 100-347, 29 U.S.C. 2001, et seq.; 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, Nursing Relief for Disadvantage Areas Reauthorization Act., P.L. 109-423, 1182(m), 1182(n), 8 U.S.C. 1101(a)(15)(H)(ii)(b), 1184(c) and 1186; Migrant and Seasonal Agricultural Worker Protection Act, 29 U.S.C. 1801, et seq.; Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993, Public Law 103-3, 107 Stat. 6, as amended, 29 U.S.C. 2601 et seq.; 29 U.S.C. 651 (OSH-Act). 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. Employees. No Credentials or documentation are required. This program is excluded from coverage under OMB Circular No. A-87. Preapplication coordination is not applicable. Environmental impact information is not required for this program. This program is excluded from coverage under E.O. 12372. This program is excluded from coverage under OMB Circular No. A-102. This program is excluded from coverage under OMB Circular No. A-110. 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 the Catalog under the Wage and Hour Division. 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. Not applicable. Not Applicable. Not Applicable. An appeal process is available where civil money penalties are assessed for violations. Not Applicable. Not Applicable. 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, hospitals, businesses providing medical or nursing care for residents, schools and preschools. Generally, for covered employment the minimum wage is $6.55 per hour ($7.25 per hour effective July 24, 2009) 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 there under may generally result in an assessment of a civil money penalty not to exceed $11,000 for each minor involved in violations; however, a penalty of up to $50,000 may be assessed for each violation that caused the death of or serious injury to a working youth, and this penalty may be increased to $100,000 where the employer's violation is repeated or willful. 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 Nursing Relief for Disadvantaged Areas Act, as extended by the Nursing Relief for Disadvantaged Areas Reauthorization Act, amended the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) to provide for the enforcement of attestations made by H-1C employers of foreign nurses working temporarily in areas of health professional shortages. The attestations are related to wages and working conditions, in addition to the treatment of U.S. registered nurses similarly employed. The Migrant and Seasonal Agricultural Worker Protection Act requires that covered employers disclose and abide with the terms and conditions of employment and that farm labor contractors register with the Secretary of Labor. The field sanitation standards under the Occupational Safety and Health Act require that employers provide potable drinking water, handwashing, and toilet facilities for covered workers. The H-2A provisions of the INA provide for the enforcement of contractual obligations concerning wages and other working conditions between certain temporary, alien agricultural workers and their employers. The H-2B provisions of the INA provide for the enforcement of conditions of employer petitions to admit nonimmigrant workers for non-agricultural labor or services. 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 212(n)places limitations on the employment of nonimmigrant workers in H-1B Specialty Occupations. The Family and Medical Leave Act requires a private employer of 50 or more employees and all public employers and schools 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 for certain qualifying events related to self and family care, and up to 26 weeks to care for a qualified service member with a serious injury or illness. Not Applicable. Not Applicable. Not applicable. This program has no statutory formula.
Matching requirements are not applicable to this program.
MOE requirements are not applicable to this program. Not applicable. See the following for information on how assistance is awarded/released: Not applicable. See Regional Agency Offices. 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 the Catalog under the Wage and Hour Division. Robert DeVore, 200 Constitution Ave., N.W., Washington, District of Columbia 20210 Email: devore.robert@dol.gov Phone: (202) 693-0539. http://www.dol.gov. 16-0105-0-1-505. (Salaries) FY 09 $193,092,000; FY 10 est $227,606,000; and FY 11 est $244,240,000 Not applicable. 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. Not Applicable.