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Earlier this month, the U.S. Department of Labor's (DOL’s) Wage and Hour Division (WHD) announced that it recovered the highest amount of back wages for employees in fiscal year 2025. In fact, the total is the highest amount of money recovered since 2019. Specifically, the WHD recovered more than $259 million in back wages for nearly 177,000 employees nationwide. This is an average of $1,465 per worker who has experienced non-payment of back wages in fiscal year 2025. The announcement also discussed the agency’s involvement with both the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) and the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA). Indeed, the FLSA and the FMLA are two of the five employment laws that all businesses must be aware of. Earlier this month, the DOL issued four opinion letters on various wage and hour topics that all employers should be familiar with.
Overview of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA)
The FLSA explicitly establishes minimum wage and overtime protections for non-exempt part-time and full-time employees. However, under section 13(a)(1) of the FLSA, employees paid above the FLSA’s current salary basis are generally exempt from overtime provisions. To qualify for an overtime exemption, employees must be paid on a salary basis at a rate of not less than $684 per week. These exempt employees must also perform at least one of the duties of an executive, administrative, or professional employee.
Additionally, every covered employer must maintain specific records for each covered employee. Records do not have to be in a particular form. However, they must include the following information:
- specific identifying information about the employee,
- data on hours worked,
- pay rate, and
- wages earned.
Brief Overview of the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA)
Overall, the FMLA applies to private sector employers with 50 or more employees, as well as to public agencies. Public agencies include state, local, and federal governments, as well as public schools. Under the FMLA, employees may take unpaid, job-protected leave for specific family and medical reasons. This includes taking leave under the FMLA for mental health care. Qualified individuals may even request FMLA leave as a reasonable accommodation. The law outlines the procedure for calculating FMLA leave in most circumstances. Specifically, covered employees may receive:
- Twelve workweeks of leave in a 12-month period for qualifying reasons.
- Twenty-six workweeks of leave during a single 12-month period to care for a covered servicemember with a serious injury or illness. The eligible employee must be the servicemember’s spouse, son, daughter, parent, or next of kin (military caregiver leave).
To qualify for FMLA leave, an employee of a covered employer must have been employed for at least 12 months. They must also have worked at least 1,250 hours during the 12-month period immediately preceding their FMLA leave.
Other Department of Labor Achievements Discussed in the News Release
In addition to recovering a record amount of back wages since 2019, the WHD’s press release also discussed how it enhanced its compliance assistance efforts. Generally, the agency believes that by creating and providing new guidance and tools, they helped employers stay informed of their wage & hour obligations.
Overall, the WHD listed the following as the resources that were implemented to help with employer wage & hour compliance:
- Creating an improved compliance assistance hub,
- Updating compliance videos on the FLSA,
- Creating a YouTube series on the FMLA,
- Relaunching the DOL’s Opinion Letter program, and
- Reviving the agency’s Payroll Audit Independent Determination (PAID) program. Basically, PAID allows employers to self-report and resolve potential FLSA minimum wage and overtime violations. Equally important, businesses can also resolve potential violations under the FMLA.
Employer Takeaways
In conclusion, the DOL wants employers to remember that it is continuing its longstanding tradition of protecting workers’ rights, especially when it comes to withholding back wages, failing to calculate overtime properly, and improperly classifying employees. According to Wage and Hour Division Administrator Andrew Rogers, “…the Department is enforcing the laws fully and fairly to promote equal competition for all job creators while protecting the rights and earnings of American workers.”
Lastly, if any workers or employers have questions regarding the FLSA, FMLA, or miscellaneous wage and hour laws, they can call the Wage and Hour Division at 866-4US-WAGE (487-9243).
