Part-time and Seasonal Employment
The holidays are a busy time for everyone, as people prepare for get-togethers with friends and family and buy presents. During this time, part-time and seasonal employees are hired at an extremely high rate in order to keep up with increased demand. Workers hired during this time may not be used to this type of employment, and employers may not be either. There are important regulations that should be upheld so that seasonal and part-time employees comply with labor standards.
The Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) does not actually define full-time employment or part-time employment. The FLSA also doesn’t put a restriction on how many hours per day or days per week that employees can legally work. However, the FLSA requires that all covered non-exempt employees are paid at least time and a half when they work more than 40 hours. Employers are also required to pay covered, non-exempt employees at least the federal minimum wage.
As for scheduling, the FLSA imposes no restrictions on the scheduling of most employees. Although certain industries are covered by different laws that may limit or otherwise regulate hours and shifts, such as mandated safety standards for trucking and medicine, most employees do not work in fields where the number of hours or timing of shifts is restricted by law. This means that employers can set their employees’ hours and can change employees’ work hours without giving prior notice or obtaining consent.
The exception to the lack of limitation on scheduling under the FLSA is for youth workers, many of whom tend to be hired for seasonal jobs around the holidays. There are both federal and state limitations on how many hours an employee under the age of 18 may work, depending on the employee’s age, the type of work, and whether school is in session at the time.
For more information, please visit https://www.dol.gov/general/topic/workhours/seasonalemployment
If you have any questions about seasonal and part-time work, or any other questions about employment law, please contact Gold Star Law.
