Employment Laws: A Detailed Analysis of FLSA and Overtime Regulations

This report examines employment laws within the context of a mining company, specifically focusing on the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) and its implications for overtime pay and work schedules. The report analyzes a scenario where a mining company changes its workweek, potentially impacting employee overtime compensation. It delves into the FLSA regulations, highlighting the requirement for employers to pay employees one and a half times their regular rate for hours worked over forty in a week. The report also discusses the concept of compensatory time and its application in both public and private sectors, emphasizing that private companies cannot use compensatory time in place of overtime pay. The report concludes that the job in question should be non-exempt and that additional overtime worked must be paid in cash, aligning with the FLSA's stipulations and emphasizing the legal obligation of employers to adhere to these regulations to avoid legal repercussions.

Running head: EMPLOYMENT LAWS 1
Employment Laws
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Introduction
There are many types of jobs in the United states of America, the federal principle statute that
guides the wages paid against the hours worked is very critical to many employees and
employers. It stipulates that there should be fairness in work and pay respectively. The focus
on Fair Labor Standards Act should ensure that no one is discriminated in levels of payment
and the work that is done (Rootham, 2007). However, many shrewd employers are unfairly
treating their employees by underpaying and refusing to comply with the Fair Labor
Standards Act (FLSA). Although there are many jobs that pay in wages and are hourly or
weekly most of the jobs are formal and requires salaried workers. However, the FLSA was
put into legislation for the employees who work on wages and are protected from exploitation
and discrimination by the employees especially in regards with the pay(FLSA essentials, n.d.)
Mining operator job and FSLA
I work as a crew operator in a mining company. The company deals with exploration, mining
and selling of natural gas and minerals and has been operating for quite some time now. As
an operator in this company, we work in shifts but a consecutive workday of seven days. The
plant operators are required by the company’s policies to work from Mondays all the way to
the other Monday. However, the company changed the rules of engagement and decided that
the operators will work from Sunday to Sunday (Rootham, 2007). The changes in work week
means that there are communicated in the company’s memo but the overtime won’t change.
Due to this changes, the operators complained about the ability of the company to sustain
itself while also paying them their dues. The company policy to change the work schedule is
correct but will negatively impact many peoples salary and the family constitution. In making
sure that the FLSA laws set up by the federal government are followed, there are given
changes that are simply unjustifiable and will probably face resistance by the operators. The

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first one is the reduction in overtime period or hours. The second one is because the
company will split the work week into two payroll period. However, the company justified
the proceedings by saying that it was more efficient to work in single workweek and that it
managed to reduce the cost of overtime due to administrative efficiency(Cordelli, n.d.).
The operators noted that the company was only paying them twenty four hours in overtime
and that they worked for more than eighty four hours within the single week. To them this
was a violation of the Fair Labor Standards Act for the company to change the workweek
schedule and hence purposely connived to deprive them of the overtime payment.
The company policy to change the work schedule is correct but will negatively impact many
peoples salary and the family constitution. However, the FLSA was put into legislation for
the employees who work on wages and are protected from exploitation and discrimination by
the employees especially in regards with the pay. According to the federal FLSA Act, the
company must pay for one and half times the regular rate of the employees for the hours
worked in excess of forty hours in a week. An employee must be paid the premium amount
that is expressed in terms of the regular rate of pay(FLSA essentials, n.d.). Under the current
arrangement, the regular pay will vary from week to week therefore decreasing the number of
number of overtime that is actually worked on by the employees.
Compensatory time
This is when a company decides to pay the employees of their overtime with compensatory
time rather than the overtime pay. However, this only depends on whether the company is a
public or a private company. Private companies cannot pay for overtime that is required by
the FLSA while the government can. . According to the federal FLSA Act, the company must
pay for one and half times the regular rate of the employees for the hours worked in excess of
forty hours in a week.

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Conclusion
In conclusion, the job should be non-exempt. Public employees under the FLSA Act have the
legal obligation and right to use the accrued compensatory time in a reasonable and given
time. Additional overtime worked on must be paid in cash. It is illegal for a company to deny
the workers the money earned on overtime and is in contravention of the federal FLSA Act .
it may face various legal suits for contravention but the best balance in this is to follow the
law that governs the employment (Day, Hakola, Kahlos & Tervahauta, n.d.).

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References
Cordelli, R. FSLA and its application to local governments.
Day, J., Hakola, R., Kahlos, M., & Tervahauta, U. Spaces in late antiquity.
Federal labor laws. (2014). [New York].
FLSA essentials.
Rootham, C. (2007). Labour and employment law in the federal public service. Toronto:
Irwin Law.