Despite the tremendous amount of federal and state law governing the employment relationship, a business that follows the following core values can avoid significant liability under most labor and employment laws:

• Follow the golden rule

• Don’t make employment decisions for reasons that are not related to the employee’s ability to do the job such as race, age, disability or sex

• Employees have a right to band together to demand better treatment and higher wages from their employer

• Provide a safe working environment

But Wage and Hour Law is Different!

Unlike most employment laws, which give employers and employees a fair amount of flexibility to come up with mutually beneficial and fair employment relationships, the FLSA and state wage and hour laws set out a strict rules which usually cannot be altered even if doing so would be best for both the employer and employee.