Overview Compliance Assistance Materials Basic Information Fact Sheets E-Tools Recordkeeping Applicable Laws and Regulations Related Topics and Links DOL Contacts Return to Wages and Hours Worked Menu

Frequently Asked Questions Must young workers be paid the minimum wage? How do I determine "commensurate wage rates"? more ...

OVERVIEW

The Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) provides for the employment of certain individuals at wage rates below the minimum wage. These individuals include student-learners (vocational education students), as well as full-time students employed by retail or service establishments, agriculture, or institutions of higher education. Also included are individuals whose earning or productive capacity is impaired by a physical or mental disability, including those related to age or injury, for the work to be performed.

Employment at less than the minimum wage is designed to prevent the loss of employment opportunities for these individuals. Certificates issued by the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) Employment Standards Administration's Wage and Hour Division are required for this type of employment.

The youth minimum wage, authorized by the FLSA, allows employers to pay employees under 20 years of age a lower wage for 90 calendar days after they are first employed. Any wage rate above $4.25 an hour may be paid to eligible workers during this 90-day period.

COMPLIANCE ASSISTANCE MATERIALS

BASIC INFORMATION

• Employment Law Guide - Minimum Wage and Overtime Pay - Describes the statutes and regulations administered by the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) that regulate minimum wage and overtime pay.

• Questions and Answers About the Minimum Wage - Answers to questions ranging from "how often does the minimum wage increase" to "who ensures that workers are paid at least the minimum wage?"

• Chapter 64 - Wage and Hour Division's Field Operations Handbook - Discusses the employment of workers with disabilities.
• Filing a complaint - DOL's Wage and Hour Division manages complaints regarding violations of the various laws and regulations it administers. To file a complaint concerning one of these laws, contact your nearest Wage and Hour Division office or call the Department's Toll-Free Wage and Hour HelpLine at 1-866-4-US-WAGE.

FACT SHEETS

• Fact Sheet on the Youth Minimum Wage - Answers a variety of questions about the minimum wage, including the subminimum wage.

• Fact Sheet on the Employment of Workers with Disabilities at Special Minimum Wages - Provides more information about the subminimum wage rules pertaining to workers with disabilities.

• Coverage Under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) Fact Sheet - Provides general information about those covered by the FLSA.

E-TOOLS

• Comprehensive FLSA Presentation (Microsoft® PowerPoint®)
• elaws Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) Advisor - Addresses key wage and hour topics, including minimum wage requirements.
• elaws FLSA Section 14(c) Advisor - Helps employers, employees and their family members understand Section 14(c) of the FLSA, which authorizes employers, after receiving a certificate from DOL, to pay less than the federal minimum wage to workers who have disabilities for the work being performed.
• Notice to Workers with Disabilities Paid at Special Minimum Wages

RECORDKEEPING

Every covered employer must keep certain records for each non-exempt worker. The Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) requires no particular form for the records, but does require that the records include certain identifying information about the employee and data about the hours worked and the wages earned. For a listing of the basic records that an employer must maintain, see the FLSA recordkeeping fact sheet.

Prior to paying an employed person the subminimum wage, as allowed under certain provisions of the FLSA, employers may have to apply for a certificate from the U. S. Department of Labor. See the form instructions page for additional information.

APPLICABLE LAWS AND REGULATIONS

• The Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) - Establishes minimum wages, overtime pay, record keeping and child labor standards for private sector and government workers.
• 29 CFR Part 519 - Regulations on the employment of full-time students at subminimum wages.
• 29 CFR Part 520 - Regulations on the employment of learners, apprentices, and others.
• 29 CFR Part 525 - Regulations on the employment of workers with disabilities.

RELATED TOPICS AND LINKS

• State Labor Offices - When the state laws differ from the federal Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), an employer must comply with the standard most protective to employees.
• State Labor Laws

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.