Engagement in Interstate Commerce

Employees are covered by the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) on an individual basis when they are engaged in interstate or foreign commerce on the job. Interstate commerce means any work involving or related to the movement of persons or things (including intangibles, such as information) across state lines or from foreign countries.

Examples of covered employees who are engaged in interstate commerce include:

• An employee such as an office or clerical worker who uses a telephone, facsimile machine, the U.S. mail, or a computer e-mail system to communicate with persons in another state.
• An employee who drives or flies to another state while performing his or her job duties.
• An employee who unloads goods which came from an out of state supplier.
• An employee such as a cashier or waitress who uses an electronic device which authorizes a credit card purchase.

Employees of businesses that are engaged in interstate commerce or instrumentalities of interstate commerce are also generally covered. An instrumentality of interstate commerce includes railroads, highways and city streets, pipe lines, telephone and/or electrical transmission lines, airports, bus/truck/steamship terminals, radio or TV stations and river/streams/waterways over which interstate or foreign commerce regularly moves.

Employees who perform support functions for these instrumentalities of interstate commerce are so closely related to interstate commerce that they are also considered to be engaged in interstate commerce. It does not matter who employs these workers - it is the work that is important. Examples of covered employees who are also considered to be engaged in interstate commerce include:

• A security worker at an airport.
• A custodian who works for a janitorial contractor which cleans a bus terminal.
• A laborer or mechanic who performs maintenance or repair work or improvements to a city street.

These are examples and are not intended to include all possible employees who are engaged in interstate commerce. Now that you have a good idea of what it means to be engaged in interstate commerce, please answer the following question: