Minimum Wage
The minimum wage is the minimum hourly wage that employers are required to pay employees. The first minimum wage established by the FLSA was $0.25 back in 1938—that’s the equivalent of $4.55 today.
The current federal minimum wage is $7.25. Employees who live in states that have their own minimum wage laws must be paid the higher of the two wages. For example, in the State of Washington, the minimum wage is currently $15.74; therefore, Washington employees must be paid $15.74 per hour.
Tipped employees who receive more than $30.00 per month in tips must be paid at least $2.13 per hour in wages. The employee must earn at least the minimum hourly wage of $7.25 when their tips are combined with the $2.13 hourly rate. Employees under the age of 20 must be paid at least $4.25 per hour during their first 90 days of work.
Overtime Pay
The FLSA requires employers to pay certain employees overtime pay of time and a half if they work more than 40 hours in a workweek. For example, an employee who earns $10.00 an hour and works 45 hours a week is entitled to overtime pay of $75.00 on top of the employee’s regular wages.
The law does not limit the number of overtime hours that employees 16 and over can work, but it does specify that hours worked on weekends and holidays don’t count toward overtime unless the employee has already hit the 40-hour threshold.
What Are Hours Worked Under the Fair Labor Standards Act?
The law defines hours worked as any hours that an employee is on duty at the workplace. The definition covers time spent “on-call” on the employer’s premises and rest breaks (usually of 20 minutes or less); meal breaks (typically lasting 30 minutes or more) need not be paid. Travel time may be counted as hours worked if it is not time spent on an ordinary home-to-work commute. Certain other restrictions apply.