Fair Labor Standards Timeline
Evolution of Federal Minimum Wage Law
The following traces the history of Federal actions to regulate wages and hours in the United States. 1888 — Congress establishes the Bureau of Labor under the U.S. Department of the Interior. 1892 — The Federal Government adopts an eight-hour workday and other wage-and-hour standards for employees. 1903 — Congress creates the U.S. Department of Commerce and Labor. 1916 — The Owen–Keating Act establishes a minimum age limit of 15 for work in factories, an eight-hour workday, and a 48-hour workweek. 1918 — Congress passes a minimum wage law to protect women and minors working in the District of…
