Section 2: Federal and State Wage-Hour Laws
The FLSA requires employers to pay employees for hours not worked because of illness.
False The FLSA does not require the employer to pay for hours not worked because of illness.
The FLSA is commonly known as the Federal Wage-Hour Law
True
What is the minimum wage that hourly paid computer professionals must be paid to be exempt from the overtime requirements of the FLSA?
a. $4.25 per hour b. $10.00 per hour c. $29.967 per hour d. $27.63 per hour
What government agency enforces the Equal Pay Act?
a. National Labor Relations Board b. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission c. Wage and Hour Division d. Federal Trade Commission
What is the FLSA salary test for outside salespersons?
a. $455 per workweek b. $250 per workweek c. $684 per workweek d. There is no salary minimum
What is the meaning of the term "compensable time?"
"Compensable time" is defined as all hours during which the employee is under the employer's control, even if the time is unproductive, so long as the time spent is for the employer's benefit.
Attendance at lectures, meetings, seminars, and training sessions is considered work time unless certain conditions are met. What are these conditions?
All the following conditions must be met for attendance at meetings, lectures, seminars, and training sessions to be considered nonwork time: • The meeting, lecture, etc., is not held during the employee's regular work hours. • Attendance is voluntary. • The meeting, lecture, etc., is not directly related to the employee's job. • The employee does not perform any productive work for the employer while attending.
What penalties can be assessed for violations of the FLSA's child labor restrictions?
Employers can be fined up to $13,072 for each violation of the child labor restrictions and up to $59,413 for each violation that causes the death or serious injury of a minor.
What is the basic difference between exempt and nonexempt employees?
Exempt employees do not have to be paid the required minimum wage or overtime pay, and the employer does not have to keep certain records detailing their work, while nonexempt employees must be paid the required minimum wage and overtime pay and the employer must keep detailed records of their work hours and wage payments.
The job title is a strong factor in determining whether an employee is exempt from the minimum wage and overtime provisions of the FLSA.
False An important sounding job title does not exempt an employee from the minimum wage and overtime pay provisions of the FLSA. The employee's actual duties and salary must meet the tests of the exemption.
The time spent by employees during bona fide meal periods is considered working time.
False Bona fide meal periods during which the employee is completely relieved from duty are not working time.
The FLSA always overrides any state wage-hour law
False Employers must comply with whichever law is more beneficial to the employee
Wages other than cash are included in the minimum wage calculation if they primarily benefit the employer.
False In addition to wages paid in the form of cash, employees may be paid in other forms as well. They may be paid partly in room, board, or other facilities provided by the employer. These facilities must primarily benefit the employee, not the employer, in order to be classified as wages.
Taxicab drivers are exempt from the minimum wage and overtime requirements of the FLSA
False Taxicab drivers are only exempt from the overtime pay requirements
The FLSA requires overtime pay for hours worked on Sunday
False The FLSA does not require overtime pay for hours worked on Sunday, unless the total hours worked for the workweek exceed 40.
Sharon works in Hawaii, where the minimum hourly wage is $10.10. At that time, Sharon must be paid at least the federal minimum hourly wage of $7.25 if she is covered by both the state wage-hour law and the FLSA.
False The Hawaii state minimum hourly wage is higher than the federal minimum wage, so Sharon must be paid the state minimum hourly wage of $10.10.
To determine gross earnings, the total overtime earnings are subtracted from the total regular earnings.
False To determine gross earnings, the total overtime earnings are added to the total regular earnings
Employers are required by the FLSA to give rest periods to employees.
False Under the FLSA, employers are not required to give rest periods to employees. However, rest periods may be required by state law
A mechanic must be reimbursed for the cost of laundering his work clothes if the clothes are required by the employer.
False When employees are required to wear uniforms that cannot be worn as regular "street clothing" and their cost and maintenance would put the employee below the minimum hourly wage, the employer must pay for the purchase, cleaning, and repair of the uniforms. If the uniform can be worn off the job, the employer need not reimburse the employee, even if the employee's wages go below the minimum.
For the purpose of determining whether the minimum wage has been paid, service charges automatically added to a customer's bill are classified as tips.
False Where service charges are automatically added to customers' bills and then turned over to the employee, these amounts are not tips and are considered wages when determining whether the minimum wage has been paid.
What restrictions does the FLSA place on employers regarding the employment of minors under 18?
No minors under age 18 can work in a job that has been declared hazardous by the Wage and Hour Division. Some minors age 16 and 17 are exempt from these restrictions under student learner or apprenticeship programs, under an exception for loading paper balers and compactors, or under an exception for 17-year-olds who work with wood products under the supervision of a parent and meet several other requirements.
The "white collar" exemption from the minimum wage and overtime provisions of the FLSA is made up of what categories of employees?
The following categories of employees make up the "white collar" exemption under the FLSA: • Administrative • Executive • Professional • Computer-related professional • Outside sales
What conditions must be met for an employer to take advantage of the tip credit?
The following conditions must be met for an employer to apply the tip credit to the minimum wage: • The employee must be a "tipped employee," which is an employee working in an occupation in which he or she regularly receives at least $30 per month in tips. • The employee must receive at least as much in tips as the credit taken by the employer. • The employee must be informed about the tip credit provisions of the law before the credit is taken. • All tips received by the employee must be kept by the employee, although tip pooling may be required among employees who are customarily and regularly tipped. • Credit card tips must be given to the employee by the next payday.
What questions must be answered before overtime pay can be calculated?
The following questions must be answered to properly calculate overtime pay: • What is the employee's workweek? • What constitutes hours worked? • What payments made to the employee are considered wages? • What is the employee's regular rate of pay?
A plan similar to the fluctuating workweek plan was approved by the U.S. Supreme Court and later made part of the FLSA and its regulations. What is this plan called, and what does it provide?
The plan is called the "Belo" plan, named after the company involved in the Supreme Court's decision, and the plan guarantees a fixed salary for irregular hours that includes a set amount of overtime pay.
What is the "regular rate of pay" and how is it determined?
The regular rate of pay is an hourly rate of pay determined by dividing the total regular pay actually earned for the workweek by the total number of hours worked. For salaried nonexempt employees, the regular rate of pay is the employee's salary divided by the number of hours the salary is intended to compensate.
What is the time limit for filing an FLSA complaint with the Wage and Hour Division?
The time limit is two years after the alleged violation or three years if the violation was willful.
The FLSA does not require that an employee's preliminary and postliminary activities be counted as time worked.
True
Under the FLSA, what are the differences between enterprise coverage and individual employee coverage?
Under enterprise coverage, all the employees of a business are covered by the FLSA so long as at least two employees of the business are engaged in interstate commerce or involved in the production of goods or services for interstate commerce, and the business has annual gross sales of at least $500,000. Individual employees can be covered even if the business is not a covered enterprise if the employee is engaged in interstate commerce or the production of goods for interstate commerce.
Company B hires a computer systems analyst and agrees to pay the employee $25 an hour. If this person works over 40 hours in a week, is the employee due overtime pay?
Yes. In order for the computer professional exemption to apply to an hourly paid employee, the employee would have to be paid at least $27.63 per hour
Barbara is an hourly paid employee making $7.48 per hour. She is scheduled to work 35 hours a week. For the past week, Barbara worked 43 hours. Under the FLSA, what is the minimum she must receive as gross pay?
a. $261.80 b. $332.86 c. $310.42 d. $321.64
Sam's regular workweek consists of 40 hours and he is paid biweekly. If Sam works 38 hours in week one and 43 hours in week two, how many overtime hours must he be paid for?
a. 0 b. 1 c. 1.5 d. 3
Employees covered by collective bargaining agreements may be exempt from which provisions of the FLSA?
a. Minimum wage requirements b. Overtime pay requirements c. Minimum wage and overtime pay requirements d. Child labor restrictions
Which of the following conditions of employment is governed by the FLSA?
a. The frequency of pay for employees b. Recordkeeping requirements c. Hours worked by employees over the age of 16 d. Lunch and rest break requirements
Which of the following areas is not governed by the Portal-to-Portal Act?
a. Travel time b. Equal pay for equal work c. De minimis time d. Preliminary and postliminary activities
What are five areas regulated by the Fair Labor Standards Act?
• Minimum wage • Overtime • Child labor • Equal pay • Recordkeeping
Employers that enter into an agreement with their employees to pay them a fixed weekly wage even though their hours vary from week to week are operating under a fluctuating workweek.
True
Exempt employees do not have to be paid the required minimum wage or overtime payments.
True
FLSA wages include the fair market value of facilities such as board and lodging
True
For a 40-hour workweek, Paul, who is a nonexempt employee, is paid $270. This is a violation of the FLSA.
True
Hospital workers are covered by the FLSA regardless of the hospital's annual volume of revenue.
True
Seamen working on foreign ships are fully exempt from the FLSA's minimum wage and overtime requirements.
True
The FLSA requires employers to pay tipped employees a cash wage of at least $2.13 per hour
True
The FLSA requires overtime pay at 1.5 times the employee's regular hourly rate of pay
True
The Portal-to-Portal Act of 1947 generally states that travel time spent commuting from home to work and work to home is not considered compensable work time.
True
The basic unit for determining the proper wages due employees is the workweek.
True
What must an employee's primary duty be to qualify for the administrative employee exemption under the FLSA?
. To qualify as an administrative employee: • The employee's primary duty must be the performance of office or nonmanual work directly related to the management or general business operations of the employer or the employer's customers. • The employee's primary duty must include the exercise of discretion and independent judgment regarding matters of significance.
"Mom and Pop" shops whose only employees are immediate family members are excluded from coverage under the FLSA.
True
What is the maximum number of hours a nonexempt employee can work in a workweek under the FLSA before overtime premium pay is due?
a. 40 b. 55 c. 80 d. 168
Which of the following laws established minimum wage and overtime standards in the U.S.?
a. Civil Rights Act b. Fair Labor Standards Act c. Age Discrimination in Employment Act d. Federal Insurance Contributions Act