The Fair Labor Standards Act: A Historical Sketch of the Overtime Pay Requirements of Section 13(a)(1) Page: 6 of 93
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The Fair Labor Standards Act:
A Historical Sketch of the Overtime Pay
Requirements of Section 13(a)(1)
Introduction
The Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) is the primary federal statute dealing with
minimum wages, overtime pay, and related issues. Under Section 13(a)(1) of the
Act, employers of persons employed "in a bona fide executive, administrative, or
professional capacity" (EAP employees) are freed from the act's otherwise applicable
minimum wage and overtime pay requirements. Employees classified as executive,
administrative or professional are not protected by the act's regular wage and hour
provisions.
The Section 13(a)(1) exemption was written into the initial version of the FLSA
in 1938 and, in one form or another, has continued to be a part of the statute. On
March 31, 2003, the Wage and Hour Division, United States Department of Labor
(DOL), proposed revision of the regulations (29 CFR 541) that define the terms
executive, administrative and professional and govern implementation of the FLSA
exemption. When the opportunity for public comment closed on June 30, 2003, the
Department had received in excess of 75,000 communications and the issue had
become a focus of intense debate - both with the public and in Congress.1 When
a final rule was issued on April 23, 2004, debate continued.2 Within the weeks that
followed, the new regulation was the subject of various congressional hearings and
had been subject to floor action both in the Senate and in the House of
Representatives.
In late August 2004, the new rule was implemented. Public debate would
continue throughout the fall, but without avail.
This report sketches the evolution of the Section 13(a)(1) since 1938, noting the
occasions on which the regulations governing the exemption (29 CFR 541) were
modified. It identifying entries in the Federal Register (with other related sources)
to which one might refer for the precise language of the evolving regulation. It does
not trace each nuance of change as each modification to the definitions of executive,
administrative and professional was added.1 Bureau of National Affairs, Daily Labor Report, Sept. 11, 2003, p. AA1. (Hereafter cited
as DLR.)
2 For the final rule, see Federal Register, Apr. 23, 2004, pp. 22122-22274.
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Whittaker, William G. The Fair Labor Standards Act: A Historical Sketch of the Overtime Pay Requirements of Section 13(a)(1), report, May 9, 2005; Washington D.C.. (https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc820733/m1/6/: accessed July 18, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, UNT Digital Library, https://digital.library.unt.edu; crediting UNT Libraries Government Documents Department.