Federal, state, and local wage and hour laws govern a variety of workplace standards, including:

The Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) is the primary federal law governing wage and hour standards in private and public workplaces. The FLSA applies to most employers and is enforced by the Department of Labor's (DOL) Wage and Hour Division (WHD). Most states and many local governments also have a department of labor (or equivalent) and an agency responsible for enforcing the state or local jurisdiction's wage and hour laws. Employers must consider federal, state, and local law for wage and hour compliance.

Employers that do not comply with applicable wage and hour laws face potentially significant legal and financial liability. Wage and hour claims are some of the most costly employers can face because, for example, federal and many state laws provide for collective or class actions on behalf of multiple plaintiffs, liquidated or other exemplary damages, and attorney's fees.

Employers can reduce the risk of legal and financial exposure by auditing their practices to ensure they comply with the core requirements of state and federal wage and hour law, such as:

This Wage and Hour Claims Toolkit provides a number of resources concerning wage and hour compliance and litigation under the FLSA.

For more on state and local wage and hour claims, including state-specific resources, see State Wage and Hour Claims Toolkit.