Federal and State Compensation Law

In the United States, workers are protected by both federal and state laws. Federal wage and compensation laws are contained in the Federal Labor Standards Act (“FLSA”) and various regulations that interpret FLSA.  State laws in California are contained in the Labor Code.  These laws often overlap with each other and differ in the level of protection that they provide to the employee. An employee gets the benefit of whichever law is more protective.

For example, if the federal minimum wage is $7.25, and the state minimum wage is $12.00 (as is the case in California as of 2019), then an employee must earn at least $12.00 per hour. Some states (e.g. Georgia at $5.15) have a minimum wage lower than the Federal minimum wage. In that case, a worker in that state must be paid the Federal rate rather than the lower state rate. This is important, because many times when a federal and state law differs, the federal law will preempt the state law.

Additionally, federal laws do not preempt state laws as far as remedies go. For example, imagine a federal law protects an employee from a certain unfair employment act and allows the employee to recover lost wages and interest as damages.  If the state law has a lower level of protection, then the federal law will apply.  But what if the state law allows the employee to recover lost wages, penalties and interest as damages?  The employee will get the benefit of the federal law which offers him or her higher protection, but he or she will also get the additional damages from the state law (the addition of penalties in this example).

If you have been involved in a dispute over your wages or compensation with your employer, then you will have various federal and state laws that protect you.  To determine which federal and state laws apply and how they protect you, please contact Stevens & McMillan at (800) 738-3353 for a free consultation.