Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938
Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 – as Amended
As the United States endured the hardships of the Great Depression, the struggles of the working class grew and employers were able to take advantage of desperate workers by overloading hours and shrinking wages. In 1938, President Franklin Roosevelt, in his New Deal legislation, saw the opportunity to attend to the issues concerning workers involved in interstate commerce. The Fair Labor Standards Act was passed, and the President described it in the following way “Except for the Social Security Act, it (the FLSA) is the most far-reaching, far-sighted program for the benefit of workers ever adopted here or in any other country.” (Nordlund). The FLSA, as it is known, set a maximum number of hours worked, established a minimum wage earned, and set standards for overtime pay. The other aspect of the FLSA is that it outlawed child labor, restricted interstate trade of items made using child labor and set strict penalties for violators. The law has been amended numerous times as commerce has changed and to address Supreme Court rulings. The Fair Labor Standards Act is my selection for this paper because it has directly impacted my life. As a call center manager, I was deposed regarding a lawsuit claiming there had been a violation of the FLSA. As a potential witness in a pending lawsuit I am not allowed to give specific detail. The case is centered around a violation of the Portal to Portal Act of 1947 which was passed in response to court rulings regarding whether or not employees were due to be paid for “performing certain employment-related activities.” (Langston) Due to my involvement in this case, I developed an interest in the FLSA and this paper was an excellent opportunity for me to learn much more. The Fair Labor Standards Act was not an easy or swift law to pass. Labor unions had been fighting for a shorter work week and eight hour work days since the Civil War with slogans like “Whether you work by the
As the United States endured the hardships of the Great Depression, the struggles of the working class grew and employers were able to take advantage of desperate workers by overloading hours and shrinking wages. In 1938, President Franklin Roosevelt, in his New Deal legislation, saw the opportunity to attend to the issues concerning workers involved in interstate commerce. The Fair Labor Standards Act was passed, and the President described it in the following way “Except for the Social Security Act, it (the FLSA) is the most far-reaching, far-sighted program for the benefit of workers ever adopted here or in any other country.” (Nordlund). The FLSA, as it is known, set a maximum number of hours worked, established a minimum wage earned, and set standards for overtime pay. The other aspect of the FLSA is that it outlawed child labor, restricted interstate trade of items made using child labor and set strict penalties for violators. The law has been amended numerous times as commerce has changed and to address Supreme Court rulings. The Fair Labor Standards Act is my selection for this paper because it has directly impacted my life. As a call center manager, I was deposed regarding a lawsuit claiming there had been a violation of the FLSA. As a potential witness in a pending lawsuit I am not allowed to give specific detail. The case is centered around a violation of the Portal to Portal Act of 1947 which was passed in response to court rulings regarding whether or not employees were due to be paid for “performing certain employment-related activities.” (Langston) Due to my involvement in this case, I developed an interest in the FLSA and this paper was an excellent opportunity for me to learn much more. The Fair Labor Standards Act was not an easy or swift law to pass. Labor unions had been fighting for a shorter work week and eight hour work days since the Civil War with slogans like “Whether you work by the
Cited: Costa, Dora L. ""HOURS OF WORK AND THE FAIR LABOR STANDARDS ACT: A STUDY OF RETAIL AND WHOLESALE TRADE, 1938-1950."." Industrial & Labor Relations Review (53.4 (2000)): 648-664. Langston, Rachel, JD. "IBP V. ALVAREZ: RECONCILING THE FLSA WITH THE PORTAL-TO-PORTAL ACT." Berkeley Journal of Employment & Labor Law (2006): 545-546. Nordlund, Willis J. ""A Brief History of the Fair Labor Standards Act."." Labor Law Journal 39.11 (1998): 715-728. Pass, Caryn G and Heather J Broadwater. Rural Telecommunications (2004): 28-32. Samuel, Howard D. ""Troubled passage: the labor movement and the fair Labor Standards Act."." Monthly Labor Review (123.12 (2000):): 32. Wicks-Lim, Jeannette. "Measuring the Full Impact of Minimum Wage and Living Wage Laws." Dollars and Sense (2006): 13-16.