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Investigates the differences in protocols between arbitral tribunals and courts, with particular emphasis on US, Greek and English law. Gives examples of each country and its way of using the law in specific circumstances, and shows the variations therein. Sums up that arbitration is much the better way to gok as it avoids delays and expenses, plus the vexation/frustration of normal litigation. Concludes that the US and Greek constitutions and common law tradition in England appear to allow involved parties to choose their own judge, who can thus be an arbitrator. Discusses e‐commerce and speculates on this for the future.

The Fair Labour Standards Act is a law that determines whether an employee is considered exempt or non‐exempt. Non‐exempt employees are eligible for overtime pay (time and a half) versus exempt employees, which are not eligible for overtime pay. The Fair Labour Standards Act status is based upon job duties rather than job title. An employee is considered exempt if he/she falls into either the professional, administrative, or executive exempt categories meeting all criteria. Many positions in the fast food industry are paid the minimum wage, or close to it, due to the intense competition and low profit margins in the industry (Reynolds, 2002). In addition, many of the employees are nonexempt employees and must punch in and out on a time clock. The positions available in the fast food restaurants themselves do not meet the criteria to be exempt due to the highly routine work they perform, with the exception of some management positions.

Recognizing the difference of labor laws between the U.S. and China, the U.S. parties need to recognize the differences when negotiating and investing in China, because some of the clauses can be settled when signing contracts or agreements. For China’s part, minimum wages are crucial for them to remember when they do business in the U.S.; the good thing is that they do not have to pay holidays that are different from China. Overall, the benefits are tremendous when the differences are recognized in advance of investments, contracts or agreement negotiations. Recognizing the differences between the two labor acts will avoid unnecessary cost and conflicts.

Employment classification is once again becoming a hot issue. Despite the fact that the Fair Labor Standards Act was passed in 1938, in the year 2003 we continue to see exploitation of employees currently classified under the exempt classification. However, employees are increasingly challenging the status of their employment to ensure fair wage treatment; many resulting in costly resolution to the employer. Thus, there is an increasing interest by employers to ensure their employees are properly classified appropriately (exempt or non‐exempt). As position classifications are put to the test, we can see that there are clear implications to various levels of the organisational structure, but the challenge lies in successful implementation of such reclassifications.

There have been several new developments in overtime pay within the last decade. The term “overtimepay” was born when congress passed the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) in 1938. All new developments in overtime revolve around this Act. Immediately after this Act was passed, reform measures were underway. The recent issues that surround overtime include: Whom is exempt from overtime pay?; If employers dock employees for partial day absences does that entitle them to overtime pay?; Can employers give compensatory time in lieu of overtime pay?; And is it time to reform the 40‐hour work week?

Recently, the Department of Labour’s Fairpay Overtime Initiative was enacted to revamp the previous Fair Labour Standards Act (FLSA) rules governing employee overtime benefits. This legislation is a significant departure from the past regulations in determining overtime eligibility. In an effort to clarify these new FLSA guidelines, the authors have prepared a detailed model, outlining the process necessary to establish an employee’s exempt/non‐exempt status. Particular attention is apid to the process of correctly classifying employees by recommending the use of functional job analysis procedures in order to administer the newly created job duties test. Comments are then made about some shortcomings of the legislation and issues for managers to consider.

The Fair Labor Standards Act (here in after referred to as the FLSA or Act, 1938) requires that most employees in the U.S. be paid at least the federal minimum wage for all hours worked and receive overtime pay at one and one‐half times the regular rate for all hours worked over 40 hours in a work‐week. Defined within the Act are certain types of employees who are exempt from both minimum wage and overtime pay, i.e., if a worker is employed as a bonafide executive, administrative, professional, outside sales, or computer employee. These exempt categories are cumulatively referred to as the white collar exemption and the workers are called white collar employees. To qualify for such exemptions the job description and/or employment contract must meet certain salary and job duties tests. The past thirty years have seen these tests become outdated resulting in uncertainty and ambiguity in their application. On April 24, 2004 the Wage and Hour Division of the U. S. Department of Labor responded to these decades‐old exemption descriptions with new regulations relating to white collar exemptions of the Act called the FairPay Over time Initiative (here in after referred to asFPOI). The purpose of the new FLSA regulations was to modernize, update, and clarify the criteria for these exemptions and to eliminate legal problems that the prior regulations caused.

Provides a historical perspective on the US Fair Labor Standards Act. Discusses how to ascertain exemption status and outlines exempt job classification. Gives case studies as examples. Considers the implications for the future of exempt and non‐exempt status.

Outlines the reason for the creation of the US Department of Labor in order to promote improvements to working conditions and looks at the development of the Fair Labor Standards Act 1938. Discusses the types of employment that can be exempted from the act and the criteria used to establish these. Describes each of the four classes that qualify for exemption status and the provisions applied within the state of California. Provides pros and cons for each.

In 2002, Equal Opportunities International published a United States wage and hour law “primer” for foreign companies. That primer provided a basic overview of the U.S. laws regulating the compensation of employees who are working in the United States. On August 23, 2004, one major component of that primer changed: who is exempt from the over time requirements of the Fair Labor Standards Act. This article explains the new Fair Pay Regulations governing which employees may be classified as “exempt” and, consequently, not paid overtime for working more than forty hours in a work week.