Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938
Also known as: FLSA; Wages and Hours Bill
Signed into law by Franklin D. Roosevelt
June 25, 1938
Signed into law by President Franklin D. Roosevelt as part of his New Deal legislation in 1938, the Fair Labor Standards Act has a number of provisions that have protected employees for the past seventy-five years. Most notably, the FLSA established the national minimum wage and guarantees that employees in certain “covered positions” are paid at a time-and-a-half rate when they work beyond forty hours in a given work week. In addition, the law protects from retaliation those employees who disclose to their employer concerns about possible violations of the statute.
Enforcement & Remedies
Under the FLSA, employees who believe that their employer has failed to pay them overtime or has retaliated against them for disclosing concerns about their overtime pay may file a claim in the appropriate U.S. District Court. In addition, the FLSA allows for what are referred to as “representative actions” which permit an employee to seek out the overtime wages for both himself and any “similarly-situated” employees who are also due overtime pay.
Notable sponsors: Hugo Black
