Software Club 210: Light Red/Club_Software_210_Light_Red_Micro_Star_1997.iso/sba/f251.sbe

Text File | 1997-01-26 | 14KB | 325 lines

@094 CHAP 5

        ┌───────────────────────────────────────────────┐
        │             LABOR LAW REQUIREMENTS            │
        └───────────────────────────────────────────────┘

FEDERAL WAGE-HOUR LAWS.  The federal Fair Labor Standards
Act (FLSA) encompasses a number of legal requirements
regarding compensation of employees covered under the Act
(not all employers are covered, and not all employees of
covered employers are covered).  The two major requirements
you need to know about are:

    . MINIMUM WAGE REQUIREMENT.  The federal minimum wage,
      after last being increased to $4.25 an hour on April 1,
      1991, increases to $4.75 an hour as of October 1, 1996,
      and will further increase to $5.15 on September 1, 1997.
      An exception to the increase is allowed for youths under
      the age of 20, for their first 90 days of employment,
      during which time they still may be paid $4.25 an hour.
      The latest increase was adopted as part of the new Small
      Business Job Protection Act of 1996, enacted on 8-20-96.
@CODE: CA
      The California minimum wage increases, under state law,
      to be the same as the federal minimum wage, each time
      the federal minimum wage increases, and on the same
      dates.  However, in the November 5, 1996 election, the
      state's voters approved a slight additional hike in
      the California minimum wage.  Accordingly, the state
      minimum wage, which was $4.25 before October 1, 1997,
      is $4.75 (same as federal) until March 1, 1997, at
      which time it increases to $5.00 an hour.  It will
      increase to $5.15 (same as federal) on September 1,
      1997, and finally to $5.75 an hour on March 1, 1998.
@CODE:OF
@CODE: HI
      The Hawaii minimum wage is higher than the federal,
      and has been $5.25 an hour since January 1, 1993.
@CODE:OF
@CODE: AL AZ FL LA MS TN
      (@STATE has no state minimum wage law.)
@CODE:OF
@CODE: AR CO CT DE GA ID IL IA KY MD MA MI MO MT NB NV NJ NM NY NC ND OH OK PA RI SD TX WV WS WA WY
      (The state minimum hourly wage is currently set at
@CODE:OF
@CODE: AK
      The minimum wage in Alaska is currently $5.25, and
      will remain 50 cents higher than the federal minimum
      hourly wage when the federal minimum wage increases
      to $5.15 on September 1, 1997.
@CODE:OF
@CODE: AR
      $4.25 an hour, effective since July 1, 1994.)
@CODE:OF
@CODE: CO
      $3.00 in Colorado for certain industries.)
@CODE:OF
@CODE: CT
      $4.27 per hour in @STATE.)
@CODE:OF
@CODE: KY MA MT NB NV NM WS
      $4.25 per hour in @STATE.)
@CODE:OF
@CODE: WA
      $4.90 per hour in @STATE.)
@CODE:OF
@CODE: MI TX
      $3.35 an hour in @STATE.)
@CODE:OF
@CODE: NC
      $4.25 an hour in North Carolina, effective since
      January 1, 1993.)
@CODE:OF
@CODE: ID MD MO OK OH WV
      $4.75 for @STATE, and will increase as the
      federal minimum wage increases to $5.15.)
@CODE:OF
@CODE: MO
      A ballot referendum that would have increased the
      Missouri minimum wage to $6.25 in 1997 and to higher
      levels subsequently was turned down by 72% of the
      voters in the November 5, 1996 election.
@CODE:OF
@CODE: NJ
      $5.05 an hour.)
@CODE:OF
@CODE: NY
      $4.25 an hour.  However, it will very likely be
      increased by the Wage Board to match the increases
      in the federal minimum wage, very soon.)
@CODE:OF
@CODE: DE IL PA SD
      $4.75 for @STATE, and will increase as the
      federal minimum wage increases to $5.15.)
@CODE:OF
@CODE: IA
      $4.65 an hour for Iowa.)
@CODE:OF
@CODE: DC
      (The District of Columbia minimum wage varies depending
      on the type of job, being $7.25 for certain clerical
      and semi-technical categories of employees.  However,
      this new rate has been temporarily reduced to $5.25
      from December 5, 1991 until further notice.   A
      general rate of $4.85 applies to all unclassified
      occupations and industries, and a rate of $4.25 for
      workers who are under age 18.)
@CODE:OF
@CODE: GA
      $3.25 in Georgia.)
@CODE:OF
@CODE: ND
      $4.25 in @STATE for most employees.)
@CODE:OF
@CODE: RI
      $4.45 an hour in Rhode Island.)
@CODE:OF
@CODE: WY
      $1.60 an hour in Wyoming, the lowest of any state
      that has a minimum wage.)
@CODE:OF
@CODE: IN KS ME MN NH OR UT VT VA
      The @STATE minimum hourly wage at present is
@CODE:OF
@CODE: IN
      $2.00 an hour for firms with only one employee.  It
      is $3.35 for firms with at least 2 employees.
@CODE:OF
@CODE: KS
      $2.65 an hour.
@CODE:OF
@CODE: VA
      the same as the federal minimum wage.
@CODE:OF
@CODE: MN
      $4.25 an hour for most workers.  For those workers
      employed by "small employers," the Minnesota minimum
      wage is now $4.00.  Under Minnesota law, a "small
      employer" is one that does not meet the gross volume
      (currently $500,000 a year in gross revenues)
      requirements of the Federal Fair Labor Standards Act.
@CODE:OF
@CODE: OR
      $4.75 an hour.  However, a ballot proposition in the
      November 5, 1996 election approved an increase in the
      Oregon minimum wage to $5.50 in 1997, $6.00 in 1998,
      and to $6.50 an hour by 1999.
@CODE:OF
@CODE: UT
      generally $4.25 an hour, for covered employees.
@CODE:OF
@CODE: VT
      $4.75 an hour, until December 31, 1996. It increases
      to $5.00 on January 1, 1997, and to $5.15 an hour
      when the federal minimum wage goes to $5.15, on
      September 1, 1997.
@CODE:OF
@CODE: ME NH
      $4.25 an hour.
@CODE:OF

    . OVERTIME PAY REQUIREMENT.  This rule requires an
      employer to pay a covered employee at one and one-half
      times the employee's regular hourly rate for any
      hours worked in excess of 40 in a week.  The regular
      rate cannot be less than the minimum wage.  For the
      overtime pay requirement, the FLSA takes a single
      workweek as its measuring period and does not permit
      averaging of hours over two or more weeks.  That is,
      if an employee works 50 hours this week, you must pay
      him or her 10 hours at time and a half, even if the
      employee only worked 30 hours the week before.

      Note that the FLSA only requires overtime pay based
      on the number of hours worked during a week, and not
      for long hours that are worked on a particular day.
@CODE: CA
      California, on the other hand, requires time and a
      half on hours  worked in excess of 8 a day (up to 12),
      as well as for each hour worked (up to 8) on the
      seventh workday of a week.  California law also
      requires DOUBLE time pay for hours worked in excess
      of 12 in a day (in excess of 8 on the seventh workday
      of a week).  California also follows the federal
      overtime rule for hours in excess of 40 in a week.
@CODE:OF

The above rules generally apply to salaried workers as well
as to those paid on an hourly basis.  To determine the
hourly rate for a salaried employee, it it necessary to
divide the number of hours in the employee's regular work
week (40 or less) into his or her weekly salary.  As noted
above, there are numerous exceptions to and exemptions from
the wage/hour laws.  Some are as follows:

       .  Employees of certain small companies, other than
          those "enterprises engaged in commerce," may be
          exempt from coverage under the wage-hour laws.
          What this really means, translated from the
          legalese, is that certain businesses that do
          not significantly affect the flow of goods and
          services in interstate commerce are exempted if
          NONE of their employees are so engaged.  An
          "enterprise engaged in commerce" is one that
          "...has employees engaged in commerce or in the
          production of goods for commerce, or that has
          employees handling, selling, or otherwise working
          on goods or materials that have been moved in
          commerce or