The federal Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) sets a minimum wagethat most employees must be paid. At this writing, the federalminimum wage is $5.15 per hour, where it was set in 1997. Inaddition, some states have already set their minimum wages higherthan the federal minimum wage. If your state’s minimum wage ishigher, you are subject to that law, which will be enforced by yourstate’s Department of Labor. The U.S. Department of Labor’s Wageand Hour Division enforces the federal minimum wage law.
The federal minimum wage law applies to employees of companieswith $500,000 or more in annual sales, about 100 million employeesin all. About one in 10 U.S. workers receives the federal minimumwage. The law may also cover smaller firms that are engaged ininterstate commerce or produce goods for commerce. There are anumber of specific exemptions, including a youth sub-minimum wagelaw that allows teenage employees to earn lower wages during theirfirst 90 days on the job. Learn more about it at the Department of Labor’s website.
