Malcolm Rivera
The Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) forms the basis of labor regulations in the US, but it does not define full-time employment or part-time employment. Instead, it is generally left to the employer to determine whether an employee is considered full-time or part-time. The FLSA requires that employees receive at least the minimum wage for the first 40 hours worked in a week and time-and-a-half pay for any additional hours. The Affordable Care Act defines full-time hours as 30 hours per week for determining an employer's employee count. According to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), a full-time employee is someone who works, on average, at least 30 hours per week or 130 hours per month.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Definition of full-time employment | Not defined by the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA); determined by the employer |
| Minimum wage | Applicable for up to 40 working hours per week |
| Overtime compensation | Applicable after 40 working hours per week; can be time-and-a-half wages or compensatory time off |
| Workday | The period between the time an employee starts and ends their principal activity or activities |
| Workweek | Includes all time during which an employee is necessarily required to be on the employer's premises, on duty, or at a prescribed workplace |
| Work breaks | Unauthorized extensions of authorized work breaks need not be counted as hours worked if communicated unambiguously by the employer |
| Meal periods | Bona fide meal periods (typically 30 minutes or more) generally need not be compensated as work time if the employee is completely relieved from duty |
| On-call time | Employees required to remain on call on the employer's premises are considered working |
| Travel time | Time spent traveling as part of an employee's principal activity, such as job site to job site during the workday, is considered work time |
| Exempt employees | Paid for the tasks performed, typically knowledge-based work that is challenging to track on an hourly basis; exempt from overtime regulations and not subject to limits on working hours per week |
| Full-time hours range | 32 to 40 hours per week or 130 hours per month |
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What You'll Learn
The Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA)
According to the FLSA, hours worked include all the time during which an employee is required to be on the employer's premises, on duty, or at a prescribed workplace. This includes time spent in travel as part of their principal activity, such as travel from job site to job site during the workday. Bona fide meal periods, typically 30 minutes or more, are generally not considered compensable work time, provided the employee is completely relieved from duty. Unauthorized extensions of authorized work breaks also need not be counted as hours worked if the employer has clearly communicated that any extension of the break is against the rules and will be punished.
The FLSA requires that employees receive at least the minimum wage and may not be employed for more than 40 hours in a week without receiving overtime pay. Overtime pay must be at least one and one-half times the employee's regular rate of pay. Exempt employees, commonly referred to as salaried employees, are excluded from overtime regulations. They are paid for the tasks they perform, which are typically knowledge-based and challenging to track on an hourly basis. These employees must exercise independent judgment for more than 50% of their workday, and there are no limits on their working hours.
While the FLSA sets the national standard, state labor laws vary, and employers have some flexibility in interpreting regulations. According to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), a full-time employee is generally considered to work at least 30 hours per week or 130 hours per month. However, the Affordable Care Act defines full-time hours at 30 hours per week for determining an employer's employee count.
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Overtime pay
The Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) does not define full-time employment or part-time employment. Instead, it is up to the employer to determine whether an employee is considered full-time or part-time. However, the FLSA does set standards for minimum wage and overtime pay for employees covered by the Act. Unless exempt, employees must receive overtime pay for hours worked over 40 in a workweek at a rate not less than time-and-a-half their regular rates of pay. This means that employees must be paid at least one and one-half times their regular rate of pay for any hours worked over 40 in a week.
The FLSA does not require overtime pay for work on Saturdays, Sundays, holidays, or regular days of rest unless overtime is worked on such days. The Act defines a workweek as a fixed and regularly recurring period of 168 hours, or seven consecutive 24-hour periods. Overtime pay earned in a particular workweek must typically be paid on the regular payday for the pay period in which the wages were earned. It is important to note that the overtime requirement cannot be waived by an agreement between the employer and employee.
The calculation of overtime pay is based on the average hourly rate derived from an employee's earnings, which may be determined on a piece-rate, salary, commission, or some other basis. For example, if an employee is hired to work a 45-hour workweek for a weekly salary of $405, the regular rate is $9.00 per hour ($405 divided by 45 hours). The employee is then due additional overtime computed by multiplying the 5 overtime hours by one-half the regular rate of pay, resulting in an additional $22.50 for the week.
It is important to note that certain payments are not considered part of the regular rate, such as pay for expenses incurred on the employer's behalf, premium payments for overtime work or work on weekends and holidays, discretionary bonuses, gifts, and payments for periods of vacation, holidays, or illness. Additionally, non-cash payments made to employees in the form of goods or facilities must be included in the regular rate calculation.
The FLSA also provides guidance on what constitutes compensable time. This includes time spent travelling as part of an employee's principal activity, such as travel from job site to job site during the workday. Bona fide meal periods of typically 30 minutes or more do not need to be compensated as work time, provided the employee is completely relieved from duty. However, waiting time may be considered work time if the employee is engaged to wait, such as a secretary reading a book while waiting for dictation.
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Meal breaks
While no federal law requires companies to offer meal breaks during work hours, federal law does specify that short breaks (under 20 minutes) are paid, and meal breaks (over 30 minutes) are unpaid. If a state has no laws regarding breaks, these federal standards are applied by default. However, states have the freedom to choose their own lunch and rest break laws, and some states have their own specific regulations. All meal and rest break laws only apply to non-exempt employees, and for exempt employees receiving over $23,000 annually, breaks are left to the employer's discretion.
In certain industries, such as law enforcement, bona fide off-duty meal periods are not considered work hours, and employees are relieved from duty. Agencies may permit shorter meal periods, and in exceptional cases, employees may eat their meals while working. For employees working under flexible schedules, they may opt for a longer unpaid meal period.
It's important to note that employees can file a complaint if their employer fails to provide a required meal period or day of rest. Additionally, unauthorized extensions of authorized work breaks do not need to be counted as hours worked if the employer has clearly communicated the break duration and any consequences for extending the break.
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Travel time
The Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) does not define full-time employment or part-time employment. This is generally determined by the employer. However, the Act does require that employees receive at least the minimum wage and may not be employed for more than 40 hours in a week without receiving overtime pay.
Time spent travelling during work hours is generally considered compensable work time. This includes time spent travelling from job site to job site during the workday, which must be counted as hours worked. Travel that is part of an employee's principal activity is also considered compensable work time. For example, if an employee drives from home to the office, then travels to a client site, the travel from home to the office is unpaid, but the subsequent travel is considered compensable mid-day travel.
For FLSA-covered employees, travel time is considered work if:
- The employee is required to travel during regular working hours.
- The employee is required to work while travelling, such as by driving a vehicle as part of a work assignment.
- The employee travels as a passenger on a one-day assignment away from their regular duty station.
- The employee travels as a passenger on an overnight assignment during hours that correspond to their regular working hours.
For FLSA-exempt employees, travel time is generally not considered work. However, if an employee is required to travel directly between home and a temporary duty location outside their official duty station, the time spent travelling may be considered work hours. In this case, the time the employee would have spent commuting to their regular duty station must be deducted from the total travel time.
Waiting time between segments of a trip or at terminals also counts as work time for premium pay, up to 3 hours in adverse circumstances.
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Part-time vs full-time
In the United States, the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) does not define full-time or part-time employment. Instead, it is generally left to the employer to determine whether an employee is considered full-time or part-time. However, the FLSA does provide guidelines related to work hours and compensation.
According to the FLSA, employees must receive at least the minimum wage for up to 40 hours of work in a week. If an employee works more than 40 hours in a week, they are entitled to overtime compensation at a rate of one and a half times their regular pay for the additional hours worked. This overtime compensation can be in the form of wages or, where legally allowed, as compensatory time off.
The IRS classifies employees who work an average of 32 to 40 hours per week or 130 hours per month as full-time. However, it's important to note that this classification is specific to the IRS and may not apply to all industries or businesses. For example, under the H-1B Visa Program, a full-time week is defined as 40 hours per week, unless an employer can demonstrate that their regular course of business operates with less than 40 hours per week, in which case the minimum threshold for full-time employment is 35 hours per week.
Additionally, the Affordable Care Act defines full-time hours at 30 hours per week for determining an employer's employee count. This definition is specific to the Affordable Care Act and may not align with other definitions used by different organizations or government agencies.
When it comes to part-time employment, the number of hours worked is typically less than the threshold for full-time employment. Part-time employees may have more flexibility in their schedules and may not receive the same benefits as full-time employees, although this can vary depending on the employer and applicable laws. It's important to note that part-time employees are still entitled to certain rights and protections under the FLSA, such as minimum wage and overtime compensation if they work more than 40 hours in a week.
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Frequently asked questions
The Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) does not define full-time employment. This is generally determined by the employer. However, the FLSA requires that employees receive at least the minimum wage and may not be employed for more than 40 hours in a week without receiving overtime pay.
Work hours include all time during which an employee is necessarily required to be on the employer's premises, on duty, or at a prescribed workplace. This includes time spent travelling as part of their principal activity, such as travel from job site to job site during the workday. Bona fide meal periods (typically 30 minutes or more) during which an employee is completely relieved from duty do not need to be compensated as work time.
Engaged to wait is considered work time, whereas waiting to be engaged is not. For example, a secretary who reads a book while waiting for dictation is engaged to wait and is considered to be working during this period of inactivity.
