• Labor laws affect thousands of Texas workersconstruction worker, image by Greg Pickens from Fotolia.com
  
  Employers and employees both need to understand the laws concerning minimum wage and overtime pay. There are stiff penalties for those who willfully do not comply with these laws, including criminal prosecution and financial fines. The Texas minimum wage law adopts the federal minimum wage dollar amounts, and overtime laws fall under federal law as well.
  
  

Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA)

• The Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) is federal law that governs the minimum wages and overtime pay of nonexempt employees in both private industry and all levels of government. The act does not apply to enterprises with less than $500,000 in annual volume of business. However, the act does apply to health care services, schools and federal, state and local governments, regardless of annual business volume.
  
  

Exempt/Nonexempt Employees

• The FLSA applies only to nonexempt employees. Exempt employees are strictly defined by the Department of Labor and include employees such as executives, professionals, teachers and certain commissioned positions. Employers should contact their local Department of Labor Wage and Hour Division office to determine the exemption status for each position within their organization. Job titles do not determine exemption status; duties and salary are the primary factors.
  
  

Minimum Wage

• The Texas Minimum Wage Act (chapter 62 of the Texas Labor Code) governs minimum wage requirements within the state. The act states that Texas minimum wage rates are adopted from the Department of Labor's FLSA. The FLSA last established the minimum wage rate in 2009 at $7.25 per hour. If the federal rates change, the Texas rates will follow those changes.
  
  

Overtime Laws

• Nonexempt Texas employees are given overtime provisions in the FLSA. Employers are required to pay employees overtime pay for hours worked in excess of 40 hours in a workweek. The rate at which the employer will pay shall not be less than 1.5 times the employee's regular pay. Workweeks are a fixed 168-hour week that consists of seven consecutive days. It does not matter which day the week starts on, as long as it is consistent. Averaging hours over longer periods of time is not permitted under the FLSA.
  
  

Holiday or Premium Pay

• There are no federal or state laws that affect Texas regarding holiday, weekend or premium pay. Individual companies may have their own policies and benefits regarding this type of pay.