|                                                            | U.S. Department of Labor |
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| Employment Standards Administration Wage and Hour Division |

Fact Sheet #3: Professional Offices Under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA)
This fact sheet contains information to assist in determining how the      Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) applies to Professional Offices, e.g.,      doctors, lawyers, accountants, etc.
Characteristics
Professional offices provide services to their customers, clients,      patients which may or may not involve the sale of "goods" or "products".      Many such offices are small, with few employees, and are local in nature.      Others may be part of a larger enterprise with more than one office or      establishment.
Coverage
The FLSA provides two methods for determining whether provisions of the      Act apply to employees of a given employer.

If the annual dollar volume of sales or business done is $500,000 or more, whether from an enterprise made up of only one establishment or one with multiple establishments, all employees of the enterprise are covered by the Act on an "enterprise" basis.

Additionally, the Act also provides an "individual employee"      basis of coverage. If the gross sales or volume of business done does not      meet the requisite dollar volume of $500,000 annually, employees may still      be covered if they individually engage in interstate commerce, the      production of goods for interstate commerce, or in an occupation closely      related and directly essential to such production. Interstate commerce      includes such activities as transacting business via interstate telephone      calls or the U. S. Mail (such as handling insurance claims), ordering or      receiving goods from an out-of-state supplier, or handling the accounting      or bookkeeping for such activities. It would also include the handling of      credit card transactions since that involves the interstate banking and      finance systems.
Requirements
Employees who are covered by the FLSA are entitled to be paid at least      the Federal minimum wage as well as time and one-half the regular rate of pay      for all hours worked over 40 in a workweek. (This may not apply to certain      executive, administrative, and professional employees including computer professionals and outside sales). The Act also      contains Child Labor provisions regulating the employment of minors under      the age of 18 in covered work, as well as recordkeeping requirements.
Typical Problems
(1) Paying non-exempt employees a salary and not paying time and      one-half for hours over 40 a week, (2) not paying employees for all hours      they work, e.g., reporting early or working through lunch break or staying      late without being paid for such extra time, (3) not paying for the time      employees spend performing work at home or not including such hours for      overtime purposes.

**Some Other Pertinent Labor Laws**: (1) The Immigration Reform and      Control Act requires employers to complete and maintain I-9 forms to      verify the employment eligibility of all individuals hired after November      6, 1986. (2) The Wage Garnishment Law limits the amount of an individual's      income that may be garnished and prohibits firing of an employee whose pay      is garnished for a single debt. (3) The Employee Polygraph Protection Act      prohibits most private employers from using any type of lie detector tests      either for pre-employment screening or during the course of employment.      (4) The Family and Medical Leave Act requires covered employers to provide      "eligible" employees up to 12 weeks of unpaid, job-protected      leave each year for specific family and medical reasons.
Where to Obtain Additional Information
This publication is for general information and is not to be considered      in the same light as official statements of position contained in the      Regulations.

**For additional information, visit our Wage-Hour website: http://www.wagehour.dol.gov and/or call our Wage-Hour toll-free information and helpline, available 8am to 5pm in your time zone, 1-866-4USWAGE (1-866-487-9243).**

 

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