Wage and Hour Division WHD

The Fair Labor Standards Act, signed by President Franklin Roosevelt on June 25, 1938, set the first national minimum wage at 25 cents an hour, established a standard forty-hour workweek, and restricted child labor. The same law created the Wage and Hour Division to enforce it. The division is led by an Administrator and operates through district offices around the country.

WHD investigators check whether employers pay at least the federal minimum wage, pay time and a half for hours over forty to employees who are not exempt, keep accurate records, and follow limits on the hours and jobs of workers under eighteen. The division also enforces the Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993, wage protections for temporary foreign agricultural and seasonal workers, and prevailing wage laws for federal construction and service contracts. It recovers hundreds of millions of dollars in back wages for workers each year.

The federal minimum wage has been $7.25 an hour since July 2009, the longest stretch without an increase since the law began, and most states now set higher rates. Rules on which salaried workers qualify for overtime and how to distinguish employees from independent contractors swing between administrations. A 2024 rule raising the overtime salary threshold was struck down by a federal court, and in 2025 the department said it would rescind the 2024 contractor rule. Business groups said the earlier rules were burdensome, while worker advocates said the reversals left many workers without protections.