Extract
Complying with the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA): a continuing legal challenge for employers.
INTRODUCTION
Complying with the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) continues to be a challenge for employers. In Fiscal Year (FY) 2008, the U.S. Depart of Labor's Wage and Hour Division (WHD) recouped back wages totaling $185,287,827 for 228,645 workers. While this amount is down from the $220,613,703 recouped in FY 2007, it still represents a 40 percent increase over the FY 2001 amount. Since FY 2001, WHD has recouped more than $1.4 billion in back wages for over two million workers (DOL News Release, 2009). Back wages associated with overtime violations accounted for 88 percent of all FLSA back wages collected and 93 percent of all workers due FLSA back wages (DOL Results Page, 2009). The amount of back wages recouped and the number of employees receiving those wages have increased dramatically since 2001 (See Table 1). In addition to the back wages recouped by the federal government, employers in a variety of industries all across the United States have over the last ten years been staggered by large settlements awarded to employees in class action litigation estimated to be as high as $319 million in 2007 and even higher in 2008 (Seyfarth Shaw (2008). On December 23, 2008, Wal-Mart Stores Inc. announced that it was settling 63 wage and hour lawsuits in 43 states that would cost the company between $352 and $640 million "depending on the amount of claims that are submitted by class members"(Smith, 2008). Wal-Mart has been a prime target for this type of litigation in recent years and had suffered a number of adverse court decisions (Table 2). The purpose of this paper is to examine the nature of the challenges employers have faced in recent years with respect to FLSA compliance and what organizations can do to facilitate compliance with the FLSA. BACKGROUND...See the full content of this document
Sponsored links
