Section 16(b) of Fair Labor Standards Act is found in 29 U.S.C. 201, et seq. The Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) is a federal act that is sometimes referred to as the minimum wage law. It also deals with child labor, overtime pay requirements, and equal pay provisions. to be shipped in interstate commerce. Coverage of the FLSA is very broad. Almost all businesses could be said to be involved in interstate commerce in some way. Exemptions to the Act are very specifically defined.
A corporate employer obviously can be liable under the Act, but individual officers can also be held liable. Anyone who actively participates in the running of the business can be liable. Payment of unpaid wages plus a penalty is the usual penalty for violation of the minimum wage or overtime provisions of the Act. However, fines of up to $10,000 and/or imprisonment for up to six months are possible for willful violations. A willful violation of the Act occurs when you know that you are clearly violating the Act but do it anyway.
Enforcement of the FLSA can result from an employee filing a complaint with the Wage and Hour Dept. of the Department of Labor or by the Dept. of Labor initiating its own investigation. Random audits are not uncommon, but audits generally result from a formal or informal complaint of an employee. Employers are prohibited by the FLSA from firing an employee for making a complaint or participating in a Dept. of Labor investigation.
The FLSA requires that nonexempt employees be paid 1.5 times their regular rate of pay for time work in excess of 40 hours. Salaried employees also are entitled to overtime payment unless they come under one of the white collar exemptions. To compute overtime payment due to a salaried employee, you divide their regular wage (figured as a weekly wage) by the number of hours they normally work in a week and then multiply it by 1.5 to get the amount they would receive for hours worked in excess of 40.
