Introduction to Labour Laws
Georgia’s Labor Laws: Labour laws are the laws that provide the relationship between the working class and the government. This Law throws Light on the rights and responsibility of the working class.
Georgia’s Labour Law Overview
Georgia has regulations that give workers more protections than federal law, such as health care continuous coverage requirements for smaller businesses, but generally adheres to federal law on issues like workplace safety.
To assist an employer in understanding the variety of employment regulations influencing the employer-employee relationship in the state, a summary of certain Georgia employment requirements is provided below. Federal and state laws must both be followed by an employer.
In addition to abiding by state and federal laws, an employer must also follow any applicable local laws that have an impact on the employment relationship.
Georgia’s labour laws cover leave, break, overtime, pay, child labour, and wage and hour issues. Here’s all the information about the different sections of Labour Laws in Georgia:-
Georgia’s Break Laws
Employees are not entitled to rest or eating breaks under Georgia’s break legislation. Employers might, nonetheless, provide them as a perk.
Breaks while in day-time
Employers in Georgia are not compelled to provide employees with lunch breaks. If they do offer them, though, they must be compensated.
Exceptions to this Break Laws
In any case, many firms do give their workers breaks to promote productivity and morale. Therefore, breaks or meal periods longer than 30 minutes are not compensated while breaks or meal periods between 5 and 20 minutes are considered compensable. However, a meal break must be compensated if a worker is required to work through lunch (a 30-minute break)—for instance, a factory worker who must stay at his machine while working.
Breastfeeding Breaks
If a worker needs to breastfeed or produce maternal milk at the workplace during working hours, the employer must give them a reasonable paid break and a private space. The employee’s usual rate of pay must be used to cover the break time. Salary-based workers may not be forced to take paid time off or have their pay decreased. On any occasion where the employee works away from the job, breaks are not necessary.
Hours permitted to work
Federal regulations and state laws do not apply to the number of hours that may be worked prior to a break. The majority of businesses schedule them as a perk after four hours.
Overtime laws in Georgia
Georgia fails to have any state labor laws that specifically address overtime compensation, so the federal regulations take precedence.
Therefore, unless exempted, workers who put in over forty hours of work per week are eligible for overtime pay that is 1.5 times their regular rate of pay.
The FLSA(Fair Labour Standard Act) does not mandate payment of overtime for work performed on the weekend, statutory holidays, or other types of regularly scheduled days off.
Georgia's Overtime Exceptions & Exemptions:-
The salary cut-off was increased by the US Department of Labour from $455 to $684 per week (or $35,568 yearly) as of January 1, 2020. Additionally, from $100,000 to $107,432 per year, the salary threshold for highly compensated employees was raised.
The following workers are exempt from receiving overtime compensation under the FLSA
individuals in executive positions who are salaried and make at least $684 per week.
- individuals in administrative positions who are salaried and make at least $684 per week.
- employees with high pay who earn more than $107,432 annually.
- experts with knowledge and creativity who are salaried and make no less than $684 every week.
- computer workers who are salaried and make a minimum of $684 per week.
- external sales personnel.
“Blue-collar” employees such as firefighters, police officers, paramedics, rescuers, and other such community workers are excluded by the exemptions.
Additionally, those who utilize the Fluctuating Workweek Method (FWW), or who work a variety of schedules, are exempt from the aforementioned overtime regulations.
Last but not least, as long as the employee is no less than 16 years old, the FLSA does not place a cap on the amount of overtime hours each week.
Georgia’s Fluctuating Workweek Method (FWW):-
The Fluctuating Workweek Method, commonly referred to as the Chinese overtime, is one of many alternate work schedules that Georgia provides to its salaried employees.
Salary employees are eligible to receive a one-half (0.5) times overtime premium under this work plan.
The focus is on salaried employees whose workweeks occasionally change. A salaried employee’s workweek is variable if they occasionally put in 35 or 40 hours per week while still earning the same wage.
However, if they put in, say, 46 hours the previous week, they have a right to overtime reimbursement at a rate of one-half their regular hourly wage for each additional hour put in.
Let’s figure out the overtime pay for such an entire week. We must first determine the hourly salary in order to proceed.
Let’s imagine an employee makes $1000 per week and puts in 46 hours the week before, earning this amount.
$1000 / 46 = $21.7 per hour
As a result, in this instance, the additional compensation per hour is
$21.7 per hour x 0.5 = $10.85 for each overtime hour worked
Total amount paid for overtime that week
$10.85 x 6 overtime hours = $65
We have given a free formula for your convenience so you can easily determine your variable workweek overtime compensation.
Georgia’s Wage Laws
State and federal rules overlap when it comes to wage laws in Georgia.
The guidelines for Georgia’s state minimum wage, hourly tipped wage, and youth minimum wage are listed below.
Georgia’s Minimum Wage
What is the minimum wage in Georgia in 2022?
For Georgian workers, the state wage rate is $5.15 per hour.
You’ll see that the state minimum wage is considerably lower than the federal minimum, that is $7.25.
However, any employment covered by the federal minimum wage is exempt from the Georgia state minimum.
The $7.25 federal minimum wage is applicable to:
- employers with no more than 5 personnel.
- employers with annual revenues of under $40,000.00.
- Employers who use household staff.
- Sharecroppers, land renters, or owners of farms.
- tipped workers.
- college or high school kids working for the company.
- bearers of newspapers.
- employees who work in facilities that care for children or mentally challenged adults who also reside in non-profit institutions.
If an employee is covered by both state and federal minimum wage regulations, the employee is entitled to the greater minimum wage rate under the Fair Labour Standards Act (FLSA).
Georgia’s minimum wage exemptions
According to the Fair Labour Standards Act, some workers should not be subject to the minimum wage.
The list of workers who are excluded from minimum pay is as follows (along with some conditions):
- executive employees that are salaried and make at least $684 per week.
- workers in administration who are salaried and make at least $684 per week.
- experts with knowledge and creativity who are salaried and make at least $684 every week.
- computer workers making at least $27.63 per hour, or $684 per week.
- employees with high compensation who make at least $107,432 a year.
- outside sales personnel- These workers are not subject to any minimum wage requirements.
- Tip-paying personnel
- Minors
Georgia’s tipped minimum salary
The above-mentioned state minimum wage of $5.15 per hour does not apply to tipped workers in Georgia. As a result, federal restrictions apply to workers who make $2.13 per hour or more in tips as a significant component of their income.
However, the hourly pay of a tipped employee must be greater than or equal to the $7.25 federal minimum. The employer is responsible for making up any shortfall in a tipped employee’s hourly wage if it is less than $7.25.
Georgia’s Child Labor Law
Georgia’s child labour regulations shield minors from any dangers to their health, morals, or emotions. Depending on the age of the employee, Georgia has both state and federal labor regulations that govern their working conditions.
Georgia minors’ work-hour limits
Georgia time limitations for children under 16:
- may work on a school day for four hours.
- When school is not in session, you are permitted to work up to 40 hours per week or eight hours per day.
- No work until 6 a.m.
- after 9 p.m., no work
- If they haven’t graduated from high school or haven’t received permission from a county or autonomous school system’s board of education, they aren’t allowed to work during class time.
Federal time limits for children aged 16 to 17:
- may work an unlimited number of hours in any profession other than those that the Secretary of Labour has deemed harmful.
Federal time restrictions for children between the ages of 14 and 15:
- may only work for three hours on school days.
- No longer than eight hours on a day off from school
- during a school week when classes are in session, up to 18 hours
- During the week while school is not in session, up to 40 hours
- No work throughout the academic day
- No work before 7 a.m. and after 7 p.m., with the exception of June 1 through Labour Day, when work hours end at 9 p.m.
Employment of children between the ages of 12 and 13
A minor must receive an employment certificate from the school administration in order to work if they are at least 12 but under 16 years old. Additionally, minors under the age of 12 are not permitted to engage in any gainful employment or receive a regular hourly wage. However, they are permitted to work part-time jobs like mowing the lawn, shoveling snow for neighbors, cleaning the house in exchange for a payment, and similar tasks.
Breaks for Georgia minors
In Georgia, minors have a right to a meal break that lasts an hour, 30 minutes, and an extra 30 minutes for rest or amusement.
Prohibited jobs for minors in Georgia
No person under the age of 16 may work in any activity that involves power-driven equipment, slaughtering, scaffolding, loading and unloading products, or any other occupation that could result in diseases and injuries that could be either temporary or permanent.
Working near an Alcohol Beverages
Alcoholic beverages may not be served, sold, distributed, or ordered by anybody under the age of 18.
However, since the alcoholic beverages purchased there are consumed elsewhere, minors under the age of 18 are permitted to work in supermarkets, convenience stores, breweries, or drugstores.
Date of inspection and relevant documents
Where minors are employed, the Commissioner of Labour or the Commissioner’s designee may enter and inspect the location at any reasonable time. Additionally, for the duration of the employee’s employment, employers who hire minors must maintain the necessary work certificates and pertinent records on site. Records that demonstrate the working hours of a hired minor are referred to as pertinent records.
Employers may be penalized
Anybody who violates any of the aforementioned restrictions on child labour will be charged with a misdemeanour.
Summary
Employers are not allowed to discriminate against workers because of their age or handicap under Georgia law. Equal pay safeguards must also be offered by employers. See Employee Relations, Diversity, and EEO.
Georgia mandates the use of E-Verify and allows pre-employment background checks for criminal activity as well as drug and alcohol testing. See Hiring and Recruiting.
Georgia has laws governing child labour, breastfeeding breaks, and the minimum wage. look at Wage and Hour.