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Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) 5-15-13 CITY OF SCHERTZ EMPLOYEE POLICY HANDBOOK Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) PREPARED BY: Human Resources APPROVED BY: City Council DATE APPROVED: 5/14/2013 EFFECTIVE DATE: 5/15/2013 REPLACES VERSION: N/A Purpose The Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) of 1938 established federal requirements for the payment of minimum wages, overtime pay, record keeping, and child labor standards for employees covered by the Act and not exempt from specific provisions. Initially, the FLSA applied only to private sector employers. However, in 1985 the U.S. Supreme Court concluded that Congress could apply the FLSA to state and local government under the Commerce Clause of the Constitution. Since 1985, cities and towns also had to comply with the FLSA. The Equal Pay Act of 1963 amended the FLSA to prohibit pay differences based on gender. Policy The city bases this policy on the FLSA, which regulates employee wages and hours in the following areas:  Minimum Wage  Child Labor  Equal Pay  Record Keeping  Overtime Pay Applicability This policy applies to all city employees Minimum wage The federal minimum wage provisions are contained in the FLSA. Many states also have minimum wage laws. In cases where an employee is subject to both the state and federal minimum wage laws, the employee is entitled to the higher of the two minimum wages. Supervisor’s Note: All employees, including seasonal and temporary employees shall be paid at least minimum wage to remain in compliance with the federal minimum wage standard. CITY OF SCHERTZ EMPLOYEE POLICY HANDBOOK Child labor The federal child labor provisions, also known as the child labor laws, were enacted to ensure that when young people work, the work is safe and does not jeopardize their health, well-being or educational opportunities. The FLSA imposes certain restrictions on the employment of minors younger than 18 years of age. Most city positions require employees to be at least 18 years of age. However, there are some exceptions. Supervisors wishing to hire a minor shall contact the Human Resources Department before initiating the hire of any minor. Equal Pay No employer subject to the Equal Pay Act can discriminate between employees on the basis of gender by paying wages "at a rate less than the rate at which he pays wages to employees of the opposite sex in such establishments for equal work on jobs the performance of which require equal skill, effort, and responsibility, and which are performed under similar working conditions," Equal Pay Act, 29 U.S.C. x 206 (d) (l). Supervisor’s Note: In recommending and evaluating wages or wage increases for employees in jobs that require equal skill, effort, and responsibility (not necessarily an identical job), be certain to make pay decisions without reference to a person’s gender. Record keeping State and federal laws and regulations require the employer to collect and maintain certain employee information such as name, address, occupation, birthdate, sex, etc. Supervisor’s Note: Generally, the Human Resources Department and the Payroll Department will take care of these details through our normal paperwork processes (for example, time sheets, I-9’s). Supervisors need to be aware of the requirements and understand that prompt collection of this information is required by federal law. Overtime pay An employer who requires or permits an employee to work overtime is generally required to pay the employee premium pay for such overtime work. Hourly, non-exempt employees shall be paid overtime at one and a half (1 ½) times their regular rate of pay for all hours actually worked over forty (40) in a single workweek. Thus, in calculating how many hours a non-exempt employee actually works in a week, the city will not count the paid vacation, holiday, comp time, or sick time towards the forty (40)-hour workweek. In accordance with the FLSA, the city is not obligated to pay overtime for employees to work on weekends, nights, holidays unless overtime hours are worked on such days.