et seq.)

Title VII of the Civil Rights Act (42 U.S.C. 2000e et seq.)
Equal Pay Act (29 U.S.C. 206(d))

Executive Order 11246

Age Discrimination in Employment Act (29 U.S.C. 621 et seq.)
Americans With Disabilities Act (42 U.S.C. 12101 et seq.)
Section 503 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (29 U.S.C. 793)
Anti-Retaliatory Provision of the Surface Transportation
Assistance Act (49 U.S.C. App. 2305)

Occupational Safety and Health Act (29 U.S.C. 651 et seq.)
Federal Mine Safety and Health Act (30 U.S.C. 801 et seq.)
Drug Free Workplace Act (41 U.S.C. 701 et seq.)
National Labor Relations Act (29 U.S.C. 151 et seq.)
Labor-Management Reporting and Disclosure Act (29 U.S.C. 401

Railway Labor Act (45 U.S.C. 151 et seq.)

Employee Polygraph Protection Act (29 U.S.C. 2001 et seq.)
Veterans Reemployment Rights Law (38 U.S.C. 4301 et. seq.)
Employment Provisions of the Immigration and Nationality Act,
as Amended by the Immigration Reform and Control Act (8
U.S.C. 1101 et seq.)

Page 4

GAO/HEHS-94-138 Vol. II Workplace Regulation

Fair Labor Standards Act (29 U.S.C. 201 et seq.)

Coverage

Establishes minimum wage, overtime pay, and child labor standards.

Definitions

Recordkeeping and
Disclosure Requirements

Enforcement and Penalties

Covers all employees of employers engaged in interstate commerce or the
production of goods for interstate commerce, and that meet a
volume-of-business requirement; also covers all employees engaged in
interstate commerce or in production of goods for commerce, or in
domestic service covered by the law, and all federal, state, and local
government employees. Does not apply to businesses with fewer than two
employees. 29 U.S.C. 203, 206, 207.

Employee: Any individual employed by an employer, including federal government employees, and state and local government employees, except for state and local elected officials and their staff members or personal appointees; but does not include anyone employed in agriculture by their immediate family. 29 U.S.C. 203(e).

Employer: Includes any person acting directly or indirectly in the interest of an employer in relation to an employee and includes a public agency, but does not include any labor organization (other than when acting as an employer) or anyone acting in the capacity of officer or agent of such labor organization. 29 U.S.C. 203(d).

Every employer must maintain and preserve payroll records with certain information, including names and addresses of employees, the time and day each employee's workweek begins, each employee's hours worked each workday, total daily or weekly hours, and total wages for each pay period. The records must be maintained for 2 or 3 years depending on the type of record.

Other requirements apply for certain types of employees, such as tipped employees. 29 C.F.R. 516.1.

The Secretary of Labor is authorized to supervise the payment of the unpaid minimum wages and overtime compensation. The Secretary may bring an action in any court of competent jurisdiction to recover unpaid minimum wages, overtime compensation, and liquidated damages.

Penalties assessed may be deducted from any sums the United States owes to the person charged, or recovered in an action brought by the Secretary, or ordered by the court and paid to the Secretary. 29 U.S.C. 216(b).

There is a private right of action under the act. However, the employees right to sue is extinguished if the Secretary of Labor elects to sue on their behalf. 29 U.S.C. 216(b), (c).

Any person convicted of willfully violating the act is subject to a fine of not more than $10,000, or to imprisonment for not more than six months, or both; except that imprisonment is only available when a person has been convicted of a prior willful violation. 29 U.S.C. 216(a).

Any employer who violates the minimum wage or maximum hours provisions is liable to the employee or employees affected in the amount of their unpaid wages and in an additional equal amount as liquidated damages, and is subject to a civil penalty not to exceed $1,000 per violation for repeated or willful violations. 29 U.S.C. 216(b).

Any employer who violates the provisions relating to retaliation against an employee is liable for such legal or equitable relief as may be appropriate, including employment, reinstatement, promotion, and the payment of wages lost and an additional equal amount as liquidated damages. 29 U.S.C. 216(b).

Any person who violates the provisions of the act relating to child labor, or any regulation issued under that section, is subject to a civil penalty not to exceed $10,000 for each employee who was the subject of such a violation. 29 U.S.C. 216(e).