FAIR LABOR STANDARDS ACT OF 1938

Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938: translation

   A law administered by the U.S. Department of Labor that established a national minimum wage for workers and guaranteed time and a half for overtime in certain jobs. It prohibits most employment of minors in "oppressive child labor," which is defined in one of the statutes. While the FLSA conducts audits and workplace inspections, the administrator of the Wage & Hours Division has no enforcement authority but may bring a lawsuit in federal court, though that is rare. The FLSA does provide for employees to bring federal action against employers, which is more commonplace. In 2004, the George W. Bush administration made controversial changes to the FLSA's overtime regulations, making substantial modifications to the definition of "exempt" status.