minimum wage provisions, who are employed by almost 1 million establishments. Of the 3.6 million newly covered workers, about 663,000 are now being paid less than $1 an hour. The 1961 amendments mark the first major expansion in the act's coverage since the law was enacted in 1938. In general, the act has applied to employees engaged in interstate commerce or in the production of goods for interstate commerce, unless specifically exempt. Retaining this coverage, the amended act will also apply to other employees of certain large enterprises engaged in interstate commerce or in the production of goods for interstate commerce. Most of these newly covered employees-about 2.2 million of them-work in retail or service trades. Some additional workers will be brought under the law because the amendments narrow or eliminate a few exemptions. The amendments also give the Federal district courts additional jurisdiction to restrain violations of the act, including the withholding of payment of minimum wages or overtime compensation found by the court to be due the employees. More limited in application than the Fair Labor Standards Act, the other law administered by the Divisions, the Walsh-Healey Public Contracts Act, establishes minimum labor standards for work on Government supply contracts in excess of $10,000. It authorizes the Secretary of Labor to issue minimum wage determinations on the basis of the minimum wages he finds to be prevailing, and requires payment of not less than 11⁄2 times the employee's basic rate for all hours worked over 8 in a day or 40 in a workweek. It prohibits the employment of children, prison labor, and homeworkers on covered contracts, and contains safety and health provisions. The Divisions' national office in Washington, D.C., in directing the nationwide field organization, develops plans and policies to insure uniform application of the two laws and supervises the activities of the field. These field operations are conducted through 10 regional offices, a Puerto Rico office, and a cooperating State agency. The regional offices, each operating under a regional director, are located in Boston, Mass.; New York, N. Y.; Chambersburg, Pa.; Birmingham, Ala.; Cleveland, Ohio; Chicago, Ill.; Kansas City, Mo.; Dallas, Tex.; San Francisco, Calif.; and Nashville, Tenn. Within each region are field offices, totaling 78 throughout the Nation, and about 250 field stations. The office in San Juan, Puerto Rico, has responsibility for operations in Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, and the Canal Zone. For North Carolina, there is a State agreement under which the State department of labor makes investigations. Activities in Guam, Wake Island, and American Samoa are under the supervision of the San Francisco regional office through a field office in Honolulu, Hawaii. As the fiscal year drew to a close, the Divisions' nationwide organization was increasingly concentrating its efforts on preparing for a vigorous, effective, and efficient administration of the amended Fair Labor Standards Act. In the conviction that a prime goal of effective enforcement policy is to forestall violations, the groundwork was laid for an extensive educational program which would utilize mass communications and special media to inform employers, employees, and the general public about the amendments. The Divisions reviewed and began to revise the interpretative bulletins, regulations, and other official releases which serve as guides to the administration of the act and which are available to the public. Similarly, revision was begun on various nontechnical publications explaining the major statutory provisions in layman's language. Procedures were developed for making investigations in newly covered enterprises and in other industries or businesses which would be affected by the amendments. Plans were made to train the national and field staff in carrying out with maximum effectiveness the duties entailed by the amended act. These and other activities had as their objective the attainment of optimum compliance with the amended law. Enforcement by Investigation Disclosure of underpayments in fiscal 1961 increased for the fifth consecutive year. This resulted from a rise in the number of complaints and continued emphasis on discovering and correcting significant violations. Employers and employees subject to the Public Contracts Act are usually subject also to the Fair Labor Standards Act, and concurrent investigations are made when both laws apply. Investigations for compliance with either or both acts were made in all States, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, Guam, Wake Island, American Samoa, and the Canal Zone. Plans were made during the latter part of the fiscal year for actions necessary to meet the Divisions' enforcement responsibilities under the amended act. Among the procedures evolved were those for making investigations involving enforcement of dual wage standards in newly covered establishments. Plans were made for training new employees in the enforcement of the acts, as well as for training the present staff in the enforcement of the amended provisions of the FLSA. Investigation Disclosures A total of 44,268 investigations were made, or about 1,500 less than in the previous fiscal year. Though there were fewer investigations, the amount of back wages revealed due increased over $2.9 million to a record high of over $30.9 million. About $21.7 million of the total was due employees under the overtime provisions of the acts and about $9.2 million under the minimum wage provisions. (See chart 1.) Investigations made in the fiscal year revealed that 75,051 employees were paid less than the minimum wage provisions required, as compared with 62,253 in the preceding year-an increase of over 20 percent. The number of employees underpaid under the overtime provisions rose by about 6 percent-from 155,746 in fiscal year 1960 to 164,758 in 1961. (See appendix tables A and B.) In all, investigations disclosed 201,810 underpaid employees, with some employees due amounts under both the minimum wage and overtime provisions, an increase of 14,813 over the number of employees revealed underpaid last year. Thus, with fewer investigations, there were significant increases in the number of disclosures of underpaid employees and in the amounts underpaid. These results were a consequence of increased emphasis on scheduling investigations in areas of potentially serious violations and on complaint investigations. Complaint and Other Investigation Activity A substantial proportion of investigator time, 42 percent, was spent on the investigation of complaints. Such investigations accounted for 25 percent of the total investigations made, but revealed over 52 percent of total underpayments, thus illustrating the importance of complaints in the Divisions' investigation program. The number of complaints received this year alleging violation of the acts was 11,934, an increase of 501 over the 11,433 received last year. (See chart 2.) Investigator time not expended on complaints was used on assignments in industries and areas in which local knowledge and previous investigation results indicated that serious violations were likely to be found. Back-Wage Payments About 122,000 employees received payment of almost $14.5 million under supervision of the Divisions in the fiscal year. This amount represented an increase of almost $600,000 over similar payments in the previous year. Section 16(c) of the Fair Labor Standards Act authorizes the Secretary of Labor to supervise the voluntary payment of back wages due. It also authorizes him to bring suit under limited circumstances for back wages. due, upon request of the employee involved. Employees have a right under section 16(b) of the act to sue the employer for unpaid back wages, liquidated damages, court costs, and attorney's fees, a right which is waived if the employee accepts payment of back wages under the supervision of the Secretary of Labor or if the Secretary files a suit under section 16(c) on a request of the employee. In those cases in which voluntary agreement for payment of back wages is not obtained, it is the policy of the Divisions, so far as is practicable, to notify employees of their rights under sections 16(b) and 16(c) of the FLSA. Amounts due for violations of the Public Contracts Act are owed the Government, and the Secretary of Labor distributes them to the underpaid employees. When necessary, amounts due are determined in administrative proceedings. |