Passed by the
U.S. Congress in 1938, this
dandy piece of
legislation was an early attempt to establish
employment standards for workers "engaged directly or indirectly in
interstate commerce". It was also called the
Fair Labor Standards Act.
The Wages and Hours Act established a minimum wage (25ยข per hour) {heeeeyah!!} and a maximum work week (44 hours) which began a slow and steady decline on the number of sweatshops in the United States. The Act also established the Wage and Labor Division (acting under the Department of Labor) to enforce these laws.
Since those heady pre-WWII days the coverage has been increased regularly to include most categories of workers and, coping with inflation and laziness, the minimum wage is currently at a whopping $5.15 per hour!!
McDonald's here I come!!!