Fair Labor Standards Act

In 1966, amendments to the federal Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) of 1938 brought colleges under the jurisdiction of the Wage and Hour Law. The FLS regulates the minimum wage for employees, as well as payment of overtime.

The College is also governed by New York State wage and hour laws, and when provisions are more restrictive than the federal, the state law governs.

All employees should direct questions regarding provisions of the FLSA to the Compensation Department.

Wage and Hour Law Exemptions (Exempt/Non-Exempt)

All employees are covered by the Fair Labor Standards Act as amended; however, some positions are "exempt" from certain provisions of the Act, such as the requirement to pay overtime for hours worked in excess of forty per week. An employee qualifies for exempt status only by meeting conditions stipulated in the law that define a bona fide "executive", "administrator", or "professional." An employee will be considered to be paid "on a salary basis" within the meaning of the regulations if under his/her employment agreement he/she regularly receives each pay period on a weekly, or less frequent basis, a predetermined amount constituting all or part of this compensation, which amount is not subject to reduction because of variations in the quality or quantity of work performed.

• The College cannot arbitrarily assign exempt status to a position. The compensation department is responsible for interpreting the FLSA and for making exempt status determinations that will meet the standards of the final authority, the Department of Labor.