In modern and egalitarian workplace culture, it's easy to find social norms that get in the way of complying with the FLSA. Here we'll review what a supervisor needs to know to meet the requirements of the law.

The Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) became law in 1938. It sets the standards for child labor, minimum wage and overtime pay. In 1963 the Equal Pay Act was passed as an amendment to the FLSA. This Act prohibits gender-based wage discrimination. The language and standards in the FLSA often seem antiquated, but they're still the law. It is essential for supervisors to understand their role in complying with wage and hour laws.

The current federal minimum wage is $7.25 per hour. Many state and local governments are starting to set their own minimum wage requirements. The council in Montgomery County Maryland recently voted to increase the minimum wage to $11.50 over the next few years.

FLSA Claims were up 10% form the previous years figures in the March 2012 to April 2013 time frame. Learn more by reading FLSA Suits Hit Record High -- http://www.hreonline.com/HRE/view/story.jhtml?id=534355547

In the news now: President Obama signed a memorandum on March 13, 2014, instructing the Labor Department to update regulations about who qualifies for overtime pay. In particular, he wants Labor to raise the threshold level for the salary-basis test from the current $455 per week in order to account for inflation. The threshold has been raised just twice in the past 40 years. The memorandum also suggests that both the primary duties and pay of some exempted employees do not truly fit in the executive, administrative and professional employees exemptions, referred to as the white-collar exemptions. We can expect the executive exemption to be narrowed, but any changes are likely to take many months.

References: Wages and Hours Worked: Minimum Wage and Overtime Pay from the DOL -- http://www.dol.gov/compliance/guide/minwage.htm

Exempt Employees -- Meet one of the FLSA exemption tests and are paid on a fixed salary basis. They are NOT entitled to overtime.

Non-Exempt Employees -- Do not meet any of the FLSA exemption tests and are covered by wage and hour laws regarding minimum wage, overtime pay, and hours worked.

At ASHA, the HR team works with an external consultant to appropriately classify each position. The classification is based on the written job description.

Under the FLSA, hours worked are comprised of all hours that an employee is "suffered or permitted to work." Except for "de minimis" activities, any work that benefits the employer is likely to be considered compensable if the employer knows or has reason to believe that it is being performed. What is considered a "de minimis" activity is unclear.

Employers can use any timekeeping method they choose. ASHA weeks run Saturday through Friday. Employers may record employees' starting and stopping times to the nearest quarter of an hour, provided that amounts rounded off average out over time.

It is wise to require employees to certify that they have accurately recorded and reported all the hours they worked.

Common FLSA violations include:

- Failing to compensate "off-the-clock" hours spent performing compensable, job-related or job preparation activities.

- Requesting employees to take work home, but do not compensate for it.

- Failing to pay workers for training time.

In the ASHA staff survey conducted in 2013, 88% of the staff said they check their email remotely. Should this time be considered time worked? If this work benefits ASHA, then yes, it is compensable.

As a supervisor of non-exempt staff, you have two clear options. You can:

(1) Make it very clear to non-exempt staff that you expect them to track and report time spent working remotely (checking and responding to email etc...) as time worked.

(2) Make it very clear (preferably in writing) that you prohibit non-exempt staff that report to you from checking/accessing their email or any ASHA's systems before or after their standard work hours without your explicit authorization.

The FLSA requires overtime pay at a rate of not less than one and one-half times an employee's regular rate of pay after 40 hours of ACTUAL work in a work week. Time paid for but not actually worked (vacation, sick leave, holidays, other paid leave) is excluded from overtime calculations.

Employers CANNOT provide compensatory time off instead of overtime pay.

Overtime at ASHA requires CSO approval. If an employee works overtime without authorization, he or she must still be paid. Working unauthorized overtime is a disciplinary issue, NOT a compensation issue!

Time spent attending lectures, meetings and training programs is counted as time worked unless:

- The event is held outside of the employees regular work hours.
- Attendance is completely voluntary.
- The training is NOT directly related to the employee's job.
- The employee does NO productive work during the event.

The FLSA does NOT require rest or meal periods. When an employee takes a short break (e.g., 5-15 minutes), the employee should be paid.

At ASHA, when an employee chooses to take a break for a meal period or other reason, a minimum of 30 minutes must be taken and the time used is deducted from the total work hours for the day.

If an employee takes a true break that they will not be compensated for, they cannot be expected to answer their work phone and respond to work inquiries, so these breaks should be taken away from the employee's desk.

During bad weather, our primary concern is for the safety of the staff. When travel conditions are generally hazardous, we typically delay opening the office or close the office early and provide administrative leave to staff. 

If administrative leave is granted, no employee will be given credit for time in excess of 7.5 hours for that day unless he/she actually worked more than 7.5 hours. When administrative leave is granted it applies to all full-time and part-time staff provided the hours the National Office is closed fall within the employees normal, recorded work schedule. This is one reason why it is important for each employee to have an established work schedule. The administrative leave an employee is eligible to receive is based on the number of hours the office was closed during the employee’s recorded schedule for the day.

Employees on leave or traveling on ASHA business away from the Washington area will not receive administrative leave. Telecommuters may be eligible for a portion of the administrative leave granted. They should discuss their individual situation with their coach and obtain approval.

Home-to-work travel is NOT work time and not compensable.

Time spent in travel as part of an employee's principal activity, such as travel from one job site to another during the workday, is considered time worked.

When a non-exempt employee travels to another area for a one-day assignment, them time spent traveling is considered time worked and the employee must be paid for it.

If an employee travels overnight, the time spent traveling to an airport or train station is NOT treated as time worked. However, all the time spent waiting at the terminal until arrival at the destination is compensable. When an employee drives, all travel time is considered work time.

If an employee is required to remain on the employer's premises while "on call" the time is compensable.

If an employee is primarily able to spend his or her time the way he or she wishes, but is expected to respond if contacted, the time is not compensable.

Additional constraints on the employee's freedom could change the expectations for compensation, so discuss your particular situation with someone in HR.