ELI5: Explain Like I'm 5

Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938

Hey there champ! Have you ever heard of the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938? No? Well, let me explain it to you like you’re 5.

The Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) is a law that was passed in the United States in 1938. The law was created to make sure that people who work get paid fairly for their hard work.

The FLSA sets a minimum wage, which means that your boss has to pay you at least a certain amount of money per hour you work. This is to make sure that you don’t get paid a really low wage that wouldn’t be enough to support yourself or your family.

The law also says that if you work more than 40 hours in one week, your boss has to pay you extra money for the extra hours. This is called overtime pay. For the extra hours you work, your boss has to pay you 1.5 times your regular rate of pay. So, if you normally make $10 an hour, you would get paid $15 an hour for every hour over 40 that you work that week.

The FLSA also helps to keep children safe while they’re working. It says that children under the age of 14 cannot work, except for a few jobs like delivering newspapers or doing yard work for their neighbors. Kids under the age of 16 can’t work during school hours, or after 7 pm on school nights, and they can’t work in dangerous jobs like mining or construction.

And that’s pretty much what the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 is all about, making sure that people who work get paid fairly, that they’re not overworked, and that kids are kept safe when they’re working.