Introduction
It is important for any corporation including EatNGas Inc to comply with the requirements of the country’s Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). The provisions of the Act are enforced by the Wage and Hour division and cover various employees including those who work in commercial organizations like EatNGas Inc. (Sciotti, 2004, pp. 6). In my analysis to determine whether the Assistant Manager’s Position complies with the provisions of the Act, I came up with various findings summarized as follows:
- Minimum Wage
- Overtime
- Normal Working Hours
- Record Keeping
- Employees Rights, Penalties, and Sanctions
Minimum Wage
The FLSA requires those who are covered by it to receive a minimum wage of 7.25 US Dollars per hour (Fair Labor Standards Act, 2009, para. 10). Considering there are forty working hours in a week and fifty-two weeks in a year, this roughly translates to $ 15,080. An Assistant Manager in EatNGas Inc earns between $21,800 and $32,000 which is above this rate and this is therefore acceptable.
Overtime
The Act fully or partially exempts certain employees from earning overtime. Among those employees who are fully exempt from earning overtime are commissioned employees working in retail or service-oriented commercial establishments (Fair Labour Standards Act, 2009, pp. 8). Since EatNGas Inc engages in convenience store come gas station activities it falls under this category. Assistant Managers do not receive overtime pay but instead receive a one dollar per hour motivational salary increment. Though the increment is not a requirement of the Act, it is allowed and therefore EatNGas Inc fulfills the provisions of the Act as stipulated under the overtime section.
Normal Working Hours
The Fair Labor Standards Act does not put a limit to the hours a covered employee is supposed to work in a week or the number of days an employee should work in a week but this provision is subject to the age of the employee where he/she is supposed to be at least sixteen years of age. Overtime hours are also not limited as long as the employer pays the required overtime. Normal working hours in a week are taken to be forty and any excess is taken to be overtime. (FLSA Fact Sheet 23, 2009, pp. 1-3) An Assistant Manager at the corporation works for an average of fifty to sixty hours as the extra hours are dependent on cashiers’ absenteeism. This goes against the provisions of the FLSA since most of the normal and overtime hours are not spent discharging the duties of an assistant manager, but those of cashiers. This is so because an assistant manager spends only between twenty to thirty percent of his time on the position’s stipulated duties.
Record Keeping
The FLSA requires that all employers keep records for all covered and exempt employees containing their personal and work-related information such as their names, addresses, hours worked, and the wages and salaries earned to this effect. These records should be kept for at least a period of three years (FLSA Fact Sheet 21, 2009, para. 3-5) Part of the Assistant Managers’ duties include keeping records of the employee’s shift schedule which contains the number of hours worked and the wages paid. To this effect, the corporation adheres to the Act.
Employees Rights, Penalties, and Sanctions
The FLSA requires all businesses to comply with its provision and where they are violated the businesses face penalties depending on the level of their violation (Brooks, 2004, par. 2). Employees’ rights are also listed in the Act and where violated, they are allowed to file complaints with the Wage and Hour Division. It is clear that some of the activities associated with the Assistant Managers’ position are violated and therefore the corporation should ensure compliance or it will be subject to the consequences as provided for in the Act.
Recommendations
The human resources division should come up with a clear list of duties for the Assistant Managers so as to reduce the conflict of their duties with those of the cashiers.
The human resources division should also define the salary requirements of the position as well as the stipulated working hours so that they may be in accordance with the provisions of the Act.
Generally, all the areas mentioned above need improvement which will work for the benefit of the employees serving in the capacity of Assistant Managers and the corporation.
Conclusion
Compliance with the FLSA is imperative as it minimizes the chances of businesses facing penalties, sanctions, and Lawsuits filed by employees and accompanying problems they bring to the business.
Implementation of the aforementioned recommendations will enable easy discharge of duties and enhance Assistant Managers’ performance.
Reference
Brooks, M. E. (2004). The Fair Labor standards Act and Police Compensation. Web.
Fair Labor Standards Act. ( 2009). Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 as Amended. United States Department of Labor. Web.
Sciotti, M. J. (2004). Fair Labor Standards Act/New Overtime Regulations in New York. New York: Lorman Education Services.