Foreword
On June 25, 1938, President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), banning oppressive child labor and setting the maximum workweek at 44 hours and the minimum hourly wage at 25 cents.Although the FLSA was a landmark law in the history of American labor, it initially had a modest impact, excluding farm and domestic workers and covering only about one-fifth of the American workforce. It was also controversial — criticized by opponents as intruding upon the prerogatives of business and hailed by supporters as a way to help the working poor and stimulate the economy.Congress has raised…
