Minimum Wage, Overtime Pay, and Child Labor: An Inventory of Proposals in the 109th Congress to Amend the Fair Labor Standards Act

Publication Date: June 2006

Publisher: Library of Congress. Congressional Research Service

Author(s):

Research Area: Labor

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Abstract:

The Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA, 29 U.S.C. Sections 201-219) is the basic federal statute dealing with minimum wages, overtime pay, child labor, and related issues. Enacted in 1938, it has been modified through the years to take into account changing workplace trends and to meet new worker and employer demands.

The act has undergone general amendment on eight separate occasions (1949, 1955, 1961, 1966, 1974, 1977, 1989, and 1996) in addition to numerous more specific legislated changes. It has also been the subject of continuing administrative rulemaking by the Department of Labor (DOL) -- and has been the focus of extensive litigation that has impacted the manner in which the act is applied.

The FLSA is divided roughly into three parts, corresponding to its subject areas: minimum wage (Section 6), overtime pay (Section 7), and child labor (Section 12). These are accompanied by a body of statutory exemptions or exceptions (Section 13). Definitions appear in Section 3. Other sections deal with administration, penalties, and related matters.

Nothing in the act requires that Congress revisit the statute. Amendment has tended to respond to change in the value of the minimum wage. As the level of the wage floor has eroded through inflation, Congress has revisited the FLSA and, while addressing the wage rate, it has also, often, revised coverage patterns and modified overtime pay and other requirements. Child labor, by and large (but with exceptions), has been primarily the responsibility of the Secretary of Labor, operating within general guidelines laid down by Congress.

Until recently, legislation to amend the FLSA had been free-standing -- the product of extended hearings. In 1996, that pattern shifted. The 1996 FLSA amendments were adopted as a floor amendment to a broad proposal dealing with business and related tax issues. As a result, some have come to view as a new pattern a linkage of labor standards enhancement with sometimes unrelated benefits for employers. Others argue that there is no inherent reason to tie FLSA amendments to benefits for employers.

In the 109th Congress, it can be expected that further changes will be urged with respect to the FLSA -- some to increase worker protections and others, arguably, to allow employers more flexibility by reducing them. This report will be updated to reflect legislation introduced and/or enacted by the 109th Congress.