The Fair Labor Standards Act establishes minimum wage, overtime pay, record keeping, and youth employment standards affecting employees in the private sector and in Federal, State, and local governments. The rules and regulations established by the Fair Labor Standards Act are complicated by differing state laws and regulations making it sometimes difficult to understand. We at the Lore Law Firm make it our business to know the intricacies of wage laws and how they affect you and your employment. If you have any questions regarding your situation and the wage laws in your state, please send your questions using the online form on this page.

AN OVERVIEW OF FAIRPAY OVERTIME RULES

New Salary Rules Effective January 1, 2020

In 2020, The US Department of Labor announced a revised Overtime Rule for salaried employees, which set the minimum yearly salary for overtime-exempt employees at $35,568 per year (or $684 per week), versus the current salary requirement of $23,600 per year (or $455 per week). 

This means that anyone who makes less than $35,568 per year is required to be paid time-and-a-half pay for any hours worked beyond 40 hours in a week.

This revision is lower than the minimum salary of $47,476 proposed by the Obama administration in 2016. It is also below the $55,000 it would have been had the salary been adjusted for inflation since 1975.

MINIMUM WAGE INCREASE

The FLSA has been amended to increase the federal minimum wage three different times since 2007: to $5.85 per hour effective July 24, 2007; to $6.55 per hour effective July 24, 2008; and to $7.25 per hour effective July 24, 2009. Many states also have minimum wage laws. Where an employee is subject to both the state and federal minimum wage laws, the employee is entitled to the higher minimum wage rate. Individual states have increasingly implemented minimum wage regulations that require a higher wage than under federal law. Such states that have made such updates to their minimum wage laws include the following:

  • California – Current minimum wage set at $15.50 per hour
  • Arizona – Current minimum wage set at $13.85 per hour
  • Colorado – Current minimum wage set at $13.65 per hour
  • Montana – Current minimum wage set at $9.95 per hour
  • Washington – Current minimum wage set at $15.74 per hour
  • Oregon – Current standard minimum wage set at $14.20 per hour
  • Vermont – Current minimum wage set at $13.18 per hour
  • Connecticut – Current minimum wage set at $15.00 per hour
  • Illinois – Current minimum wage set at $13 per hour
  • Nevada – Current minimum wage set at $10.25 per hour
  • Massachusetts – Current minimum wage set at $15 per hour
  • New York – Current minimum wage in New York City, Long Island & Westchester set at $15 per hour; rest of the state set at $14.20 per hour
  • New Jersey – Current minimum wage set at $14.13 per hour
  • Ohio – Current minimum wage set at $10.10 per hour
  • Florida – Current minimum wage set at $12 per hour

FAIR PAY RULES

The Department of Labor (DOL) released the “FairPay” overtime rules that went into effect on August 23, 2004. These FairPay overtime laws make some significant changes to the old rules and are intended to strengthen protections and rights for 6.7 million American workers, including 1.3 million low-wage workers who were denied overtime under the old rules. Under the new FairPay rules, workers earning less than $23,660* ($35,568 as of 1/1/2020) per year or $455* ($684 as of 1/1/2020) per week were guaranteed overtime protection. As before, mere job titles do not determine an employee’s exempt or non-exempt status and entitlement to overtime pay. Under the new rules, certain workers are automatically eligible for overtime pay regardless of how much they earn:

  • “Blue collar” workers or other manual laborers who perform work involving repetitive operations with their hands, physical skill, and energy
  • Police officers, firefighters, paramedics, and other “first responders”
  • Licensed practical nurses
  • Paralegals

* The Department of Labor under the Obama Administration increased this salary amount to $913 per week effective 12/1/2016; however, this increase was blocked by a court ruling. Instead, the Trump Administration only increased the minimum “exempt” salary to $684 per week ($35,568 per year) as of 1/1/2020. Please see this page for the latest updates.