Fair Labor Standards Act Analysis Persuasive Essay Example

Equal Pay Act made it illegal to pay workers lower wages based on their sex in order to promote equal pay for equal work as an amendment to the FALLS.

This change helped reduce wage disparity between men and women in workplaces by challenging traditional beliefs that women deserved lower wages due to not being heads of households. Instead, it acknowledged that various circumstances often made women breadwinners themselves.The Equal Pay Act set a standard for wage equality between both sexes with exceptions for seniority or merit-based systems.

In 1966, the ELSE Amendment was influenced by labor leaders like Cesar Cave. It expanded coverage to farm workers, increased the minimum wage, and provided protection for state and local government employees.

The Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967 aimed to prevent age discrimination in employment practices such as denial of health benefits and training opportunities while keeping intactThe application of the ELSE Amendment in 1974 expanded its coverage to businesses with more than twenty employees, and in the same year, it also extended protection to state and local government employees as well as domestic workers, while raising the minimum wage. Additional changes were made by the ELSE Amendment in 1977, which further increased the minimum wage and introduced modifications to tipped employees' pay. It also provided partial overtime exemption for certain hotel, motel, and restaurant workers. The enactment of the Migrant and Seasonal Agricultural Worker Protection Act (MSP) in 1983 aimed at safeguarding migrant and seasonal farm workers by establishing regulations for their pay, working conditions, and work-related records. The U.S. Department of Labor required farm labor contractors to register under this act to ensure protection for

all parties involved – farm workers, agricultural associations, and employers. Subsequently, in 1985, another amendment was introduced that allowed state and local government employers to compensate overtime hours with paid time off instead of overtime pay. Federal agreements involving volunteer activities were exempted from daily overtime requirements through this amendment as well. The following year saw further amendments being implemented under ELSE that gradually increased the minimum wage to $4.5 per hour by 1989 while eliminating distinctions between retail and non-retail enterprises. These amendments also brought changes to the tip credit system and excluded construction as well as laundry or dry cleaning businesses from specific identifications within these labor laws.In addition, a "training wage" also called a "youth minimum wage" or "submission wage" was established at 85% of the minimum wage for workers who are under 20 years old. This training wage can be paid for a maximum of 90 days under specific conditions. The Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA) was passed in 1993, granting eligible employees up to 12 weeks of unpaid leave for family and medical reasons while safeguarding their job status. During President Bill Clinton's term, he achieved one of his significant goals from his 1992 campaign promise through the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) Amendment, which raised the minimum wage to $5.15 per hour. However, on August 23, 2004, controversial changes were made to the FLSA's overtime regulations that redefined an "exempt" employee. Consequently, supervisors at lower levels in American industries were reclassified as "executives," resulting in them losing their eligibility for overtime pay and facing financial losses. The Bush administration and business interests supported these changes by arguing that necessary

updates were needed and only a small number of workers would be affected. Despite attempts by Congress to modify the new regulations, they remained unchanged. Eventually, President Bush signed H.R. 2206 on May 25, 2007 - this supplemental appropriation bill included the Fair Minimum Wage Act and became known as "Fairway" during the Bush administration.However, the AFL-CIO and other organizations argued that millions of workers would be unable to receive overtime pay due to these modifications in the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). The FLSA implemented a plan to gradually raise the federal minimum wage to $7.25 per hour by July 24, 2009. This law applies to employees involved in interstate commerce or goods production, as well as those employed by a commerce-related enterprise. Typically, employers earning at least $500,000 annually fall under the FLSA and its protections, unless they qualify for an exemption. There are various exemptions that allow employers to be exempt from following minimum wage, overtime, and record-keeping requirements. Notably, certain professional, administrative, and executive employees can be exempted from these requirements. However, these exemptions are interpreted narrowly and require employers to clearly prove their employees meet the exemption criteria without question. Independent contractors and volunteers are also exempt from these requirements as they do not fit the definition of "employees" according to the FLSA. It is important to note that misclassifying workers as independent contractors in order to avoid obligations under this law is illegal and has led to illegal practices in many cases. Additionally, there have been instances where employees were incorrectly labeled as volunteersCourts utilize an "economic reality" test to evaluate the relationship between a worker and their employer

in order to determine if they are an independent contractor. This same test is also applied when identifying joint employment situations, where a worker is employed by multiple individuals or entities simultaneously, commonly referred to as joint employers. For example, in certain cases, a farm worker may be jointly employed by both a labor contractor and a grower. The labor contractor takes care of various responsibilities such as hiring, transportation, bookkeeping, payment processing, and tracking hours. On the other hand, the grower oversees work quality, determines work placement, manages workload, establishes standards of excellence, and possesses the authority to hire workers,reprimand them,and provide work instructions.