OVERVIEW

Hazard pay means additional pay for performing hazardous duty or work involving physical hardship. Work duty that causes extreme physical discomfort and distress which is not adequately alleviated by protective devices is deemed to impose a physical hardship. The Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) does not address the subject of hazard pay, except to require that it be included as part of a federal employee's regular rate of pay in computing the employee's overtime pay.

The FLSA is administered and enforced by the Wage and Hour Division of the Employment Standards Administration. Federal employee pay is administered by the Office of Personnel Management.

COMPLIANCE ASSISTANCE MATERIALS

BASIC INFORMATION

• Handy Reference Guide to the Fair Labor Standards Act - Answers many questions about the FLSA, including what the Act does and does not require.
• Questions and Answers About the FLSA
• Injury Compensation for Federal Employees: A Handbook for Employing Agency Personnel - Excerpt from a handbook written for federal agency specialists, compensation specialists, and supervisors that gives guidance on compensating employees for on-the-job injuries; includes a discussion of hazard pay.

E-TOOLS

• elaws FLSA Advisor - Addresses key wage and hour topics, including detailed explanations of what the FLSA does not require.

APPLICABLE LAWS AND REGULATIONS

• The Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) - Establishes minimum wages, overtime pay, recordkeeping and child labor standards for private sector and government workers.
• Office of Personnel Management (OPM) Regulation 5 CFR Parts 901 to 907 - Regulation concerning pay for federal government workers for duty involving physical hardship or hazard.

DOL CONTACTS*

• Employment Standards Administration (ESA)
  Wage and Hour Division
  200 Constitution Avenue, NW
  Room S-3502
  Washington, DC 20210
  Contact WHD
  Tel: 1-866-4USWAGE (1-866-487-9243)
  TTY: 1-877-889-5627
  Local Offices

• For questions on other DOL laws,
  please call DOL's Toll-Free Help Line at 1-866-4-USA-DOL. Live assistance is available in English and Spanish, Monday through Friday from 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. Eastern Time. Additional service is available in more than 140 languages through a translation service.
  Tel: 1-866-4-USA-DOL
  TTY: 1-877-889-5627

*Pursuant to the U.S. Department of Labor's Confidentiality Protocol for Compliance Assistance Inquiries, information provided by a telephone caller will be kept confidential within the bounds of the law. Compliance assistance inquiries will not trigger an inspection, audit, investigation, etc.