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Pros And Cons Of The Fair Labour Standards Act Of 1938

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The Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 improved society and the working industry to what it is to be known as today. Prior to this act, workers were being forced to work strict hours with unreasonable pay along with dreadful treatment and conditions in America during the Great Depression. At the time, America was in desperate need to gain capital and hired anyone they could. Therefore, employers treated their employees without any remorse in order to feed their greed for money. Common victims during this period were children. Children were simple to put to work because they could not fight back against their treatment and were vulnerable, into the bargain that their size was valuable for the jobs required to be filled. This advancement in history …show more content…

Considering that this act was meant to be favorable to employees, workers were overall more content with their jobs. Moreover, according to Scott, the compliance of workers had greatly increased in businesses. (2) Since workers knew that the time and dedication they were putting into their jobs was worthy of their wages, their performance was of higher quality. Correspondingly, employers tended to follow the orders of the Fair Labor Standards Act because it allowed their businesses to keep a superior and ethical appearance to society, which would eventually result in their business gaining more workers. All in all, given the many advantages of the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938, a tremendously positive impact was placed on …show more content…

In a poster regarding the conditions of the act made by the Wage and Hour Division of the United States Department of Labor (see Appendix A), the different situations that could affect one's ability to work are referred to. Some factors that could result in difficulties regarding one's performance introduced in this poster are student workers, nursing mothers, state laws, disabled workers, etc. In the course of the Great Depression, different people were treated differently in their work. For example, black people struggled more to find jobs than white people. For this reason, the people requested for the Fair Labor Standards Act to grant equality among workers. The Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 preaches the notion that all workers are managed equally while considering their living and health

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They also had better eating and toilet facilities and lowered the number of working hours for women and children. These laws made working conditions safer for everyone for years to

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The machinery was very dangerous and caused many deaths (Document 1). Moreover, the workers went through physical suffering and moral degradation. They lacked basic resources and were weakened because of the harsh conditions (Document 2). Fortunately, the conditions were improved thanks to an act called The Hours of Labor in Factories Act that was passed in 1844. Work hours had been reduced to ten hours, the wages had been increased, and safety was now a priority (Document 3).

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In 1887, Samuel Gompers mused, “... I hold it as a self-evident proposition that no successful attempt can be made to reach those ends without first improving present conditions.” What Gompers is suggesting is that regulations to protect the workers must be made before one attempts to abolish bigger discrepancies. His base work in improving workplace regulations resulted in a stricter hand in government telling businesses what they can and can’t do. Gompers creation of the American Federation of Labor made workers of America a more united force, that led to changes for the good of the working class. One of these changes that occurred from Samuel Gompers work was the Adamson Act.

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Another thing that went on at that time was regulation. This was where the government would help workers over their bosses in large companies. The pure

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After years of judicial opposition and close two years of congressional quarrel, on June 25, 1938, President Franklin D. Roosevelt signs the Fair Standard Act (FLSA). President Roosevelt describes the Act as “the most far-reaching, far-sighted program for the benefit of workers ever adopted in this or any other country." () Before the passage of the Fair Standard Act there were multiple efforts on the state level to restrict hours of work and set minimum wages. In 1840, the longer existing National Trade Union convinced President Van Buren to make an executive order restricting a 10 hour government work day. The National Labor Union made making the 8 hour work week a priority after the civil war had ended.

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One of the bigger issues surrounding this age was the awful factory working conditions. Nobody listened to what the workers had to say during that time. “The employer desires to reduce wages and lengthen the hours of labor, while the desire of employees is to obtain shorter hours of labor and better wages, and better surroundings.” (Document C) This selection of document C shows that the employers wanted their employees to get paid even

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This law created the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB). It was pro-union and helped workers negotiate through collective bargaining or the process of getting better wages, hours, working conditions through your union instead of separately3. It was a milestone of the U.S. labor movement. Along the same lines, the Fair Labor Standards Act established a minimum wages and maximum number of hours people in interstate commerce industries could work. It also outlawed children under the age of sixteen being able to work3.

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How to best fix this corrupt system of labor was a great debate. The first major leap in the right direction was the creation of minimum wage laws, the regulation of working hours, and the prohibition of child labor. These laws clapped down on Gilded Age ideas by ensuring that owners would no longer exploit workers and maintain fair working conditions. Furthermore, worker compensation laws required employers to compensate employees who became injured or ill while on the job. This law helped to provide workers with greater financial security and protection.

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The Wagner Act –also known as the National Labor Relations Act- was a New Deal reform that was passed by President Franklin Roosevelt in 1935. It was a great tool in preventing employers from messing with workers’ unions and protests in the private sector. This act made a foundation for the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) to protect the rights of workers for them to organize, bargain collectively, and strikes. In 1930, millions of workers belonged to labor unions.

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This included reform laws regarding child labor and workers compensation, safety in the workplace,

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After the expiration of this act, President Roosevelt extended to “protect children, to enforce minimum wages, to prevent excessive hours… while retaining fair competition” (Roosevelt, “Fireside Chat 1933” 3). The National Industrial Recovery Act’s primary goal was to establish a good work environment for industrial workers and to limit industrial competition. This act protected the lower class immensely, because they were finally receiving rights that protected them. Additionally, this act also place limits on the rich because it forbade unfair practices that only benefited them and not the lower class. This act helped Americans surpass the Great Depression because it allowed businesses to recover by limiting competition, which reduced unemployment rates since people were able to get jobs with fair wages and hours.

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The conditions were dangerous as fingers were cut off and people got black lung. The Social Gospel saw the working conditions were poor so they wanted reform. With better working conditions, more people would continue to work or encourage others to work as well. More people working for better conditions could allow more products to be produced. The Hepburn Act was created in 1906 for railroad workers to have a rate that was established so

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The book "Comparative Perspectives on the Gilded Age and Progressive Era" by Ballard Campbell discusses the reforms that were put in place to regulate business and industry, protect workers and consumers, and promote social justice. These included the Sherman Antitrust Act, the Pure Food and Drug Act, and the creation of labor laws and unions. The Sherman Antitrust Act of 1890 was one of the first major pieces of legislation aimed at breaking up monopolies and promoting fair competition. Other regulations were put in place to protect workers and consumers, such as the Pure Food and Drug Act of 1906 and the establishment of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration.

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They saw the economy as an interdependent system in which the well-being of workers was essential for the overall health of society. Progressives wanted to drastically reduce the power of large corporations and ensure that workers were treated fairly and justly. Some examples of the Progressive movement's goals can be seen in the way laws were passed by Congress and local and state governments. For one instance, the Meat Inspection Act and the Pure Food and Drug Act were passed to ensure that the food and drug industries were controlled and that consumers weren't harmed by harmful products. The Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 established a minimum wage, and maximum workweek, and prohibited the employment of children under the age of 16 in perilous occupations.

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Child labor was a great concern in the Industrial revolution but very few people did something to stop it. Women and Children were forced to work more than 10 hours a day with only forty minutes to have lunch. Elizabeth Bentley once said that they didn’t have any time to have breakfast or drink anything during the day. They worked standing up and if they didn’t do their work on time they were strapped (whipped). Children were treating like they were not important, like they didn’t deserve a better life.

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