Fair+Labor+Standards+Act

__**Background:**__ __**Impact:**__ __**Developments:**__
 * Fair Labor Standards Act** **by Alena Woods, Sally Chun, Julia Bogaenko**
 * Also known as Wages and Hours Law**
 * enacted on June 25, 1938 by the Senate and House of Representatives**
 * minimum wage of 40 cents per hour, maximum work week of 40 hours**
 * restricted employment of children younger than 16 years old**
 * improved the bargaining position of organized workers and offset some obstacles to organizing others**
 * Conservatives argued that Fair Labor Standards Act lowers employment by raising the cost of labor**
 * held domestic servants and retail workers to be outside interstate commerce**
 * agricultural workers were exempted because of the political power of their employers**
 * reflected a rightward shift in national politics**
 * 1963: An Equal Pay Act for women incorporated into the Fair Labor Standards Act**
 * 1966: civil rights and labor groups won coverage for agricultural workers**
 * 1974: extended protection to domestic workers**
 * 1974 and 1977 amendments: increased penalities for violations**

Fair Labor Standards Act (1938)
 * Established a national minimum wage for workers in covered occupations- 40 cents
 * Restricted child employment to start at age 16.Initial impact on country was limited by low minimum wage rate
 * Exempted: many low-paying, long-hour occupations.

Over the decades...
 * A group of amendments broadened the FLSA's coverage and raised the minimum wage
 * It wasn't balanced with the increasing living costs
 * Didn't bring most workers above the poverty line

Impact on the country...
 * Applied to employees who were in Congress jurisdiction- 11 million workers or 1/5 of the working force were aided
 * Set hourly wages of 25 cents, increased as the years went on
 * But this change only applied to 300,000 of the affected workers

Intervention in the market...
 * Union organization rates were lowering after the FLSA was enstated
 * Limited attractiveness for factories to relocate over statelines and set a national floor for working standards
 * 1966:civil rights and labor groups helped to gain coverage for agricultural workers
 * 1974: the Act now applied to domestic workers and the women's movement made society rethink household labor.