Wage and Hour Laws (04/28/12) John E. Thompson

Companies can control or even cut labor costs and still comply with the Fair Labor Standards Act. For example, a company need not pay the same hourly rate for compensable travel time or training time as it pays for the employee’s usual work; companies can pay a lower hourly rate of not less than the minimum wage. The FLSA does not require that nonexempt workers be paid an hourly rate or paid in any specific way other than to comply with the FLSA’s minimum-wage, overtime, and timekeeping provisions. This means a variety of approaches can be taken such as a salary-plus-overtime plan, a day-rate plan, a piece-rate or job-rate plan, or a commission plan.