U.S. Department of Labor
Employment Standards Administration
Wage and Hour Division
(Revised July 2008)
Fact Sheet #14: Coverage Under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA)
This fact sheet provides general information concerning coverage under the FLSA.
The FLSA is the Federal law which sets minimum wage, overtime, recordkeeping, and youth employment
standards.
The minimum wage for covered nonexempt workers is not less than $6.55 per hour effective July 24, 2008 and
$7.25 per hour effective July 24, 2009. With only some exceptions, overtime ("time and one-half") must be paid
for work over forty hours a week. Child labor regulations prohibit persons younger than eighteen years old from
working in certain jobs and additionally sets rules concerning the hours and times employees under sixteen
years of age may work.
More than 130 million American workers are protected (or "covered") by the FLSA, which is enforced by the
Wage and Hour Division of the U.S. Department of Labor.
There are two ways in which an employee can be covered by the law: "enterprise coverage" and "individual
coverage."
Enterprise Coverage
Employees who work for certain businesses or organizations (or "enterprises") are covered by the FLSA. These
enterprises, which must have at least two employees, are:
(1) those that have an annual dollar volume of sales or business done of at least $500,000
(2) hospitals, businesses providing medical or nursing care for residents, schools and preschools, and
government agencies
Individual Coverage
Even when there is no enterprise coverage, employees are protected by the FLSA if their work regularly
involves them in commerce between States ("interstate commerce"). The FLSA covers individual workers who
are "engaged in commerce or in the production of goods for commerce."
Examples of employees who are involved in interstate commerce inc