The Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) establishes minimum wage, overtime pay, recordkeeping, and youth employment standards affecting employees in the private sector and in federal, state, and local governments. Covered nonexempt workers are entitled to the current minimum wage. Overtime pay at a rate not less than one and one-half times the regular rate of pay is required after 40 hours of work in a workweek. The FLSA is in the United States Code, at 29 U.S.C. §201. And the relevant rules and regulations are in the Code of Federal Regulations, at 29 C.F.R. §510 to 29 C.F.R. §794.

Wages required by the FLSA are due on the regular payday for the pay period covered. Deductions made from wages for such items as cash or merchandise shortages, employer-required uniforms, and tools of the trade, are not legal to the extent that they reduce the wages of employees below the minimum rate required by the FLSA or reduce the amount of overtime pay due under the FLSA.

Covered nonexempt employees must receive overtime pay for hours worked over 40 per workweek (any fixed and regularly recurring period of 168 hours—seven consecutive 24-hour periods) at a rate not less than one and one-half times the regular rate of pay. There is no limit on the number of hours employees 16 years or older may work in any workweek. The FLSA does not require overtime pay for work on weekends, holidays, or regular days of rest, unless overtime is worked on such days.

Hours worked ordinarily include all the time during which an employee is required to be on the employer’s premises, on duty, or at a prescribed workplace.

The FLSA contains some exemptions from these basic standards. Some apply to specific types of businesses; others apply to specific kinds of work.

Under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), in New York as well as across the United States, nonexempt employees are guaranteed a minimum wage and are entitled to overtime pay at a rate of at least one and one-half times their regular rate of pay for hours worked beyond 40 in a workweek. The FLSA sets the framework for minimum wage, overtime pay, recordkeeping, and youth employment for most employees in the private sector and government. In New York, the minimum wage is set higher than the federal minimum wage, and employers must comply with the higher state standard. Deductions from wages that bring an employee's earnings below the minimum wage or reduce the overtime pay due are prohibited. While the FLSA does not limit the number of hours employees aged 16 and older can work in a week, it does not mandate overtime pay for work on weekends or holidays unless those days involve overtime hours. Certain types of businesses and work are exempt from some FLSA provisions, but these exemptions are specific and narrowly defined.