• Employees of small businesses are covered by a number of U.S. laws.Three office workers image by Vladimir Melnik from Fotolia.com
  
  In the United States, small businesses are subject to a number of laws regulating how they manage their employees. These laws cover among other things, wages, overtime, safety standards and benefits.
  
  

Fair Labor Standards Act

• The U.S. Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) provides rules regarding minimum wage and overtime pay for small business employees. FLSA covers both the full-time and part-time employees of any organization that does business across state lines. As of 2010, the FLSA required that non-exempt businesses pay employees a minimum wage of $7.25 per hour. FLSA also requires that employees who work more than 40 hours in a week receive one and one-half times their usual hourly rate for all hours over 40.
  
  

Occupational Safety and Health Act

• The Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSH Act) established the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), which is responsible for enacting and enforcing workplace health and safety standards. OSHA applies to all employees working in the United States, regardless of their employer. Which OSHA standards apply to a particular small business depends upon which OSHA category the business falls into: general industry, construction, maritime or agriculture.
  
  

Employee Retirement Security Income Act

• The Employee Retirement Security Income Act (ERISA) covers employee pension and benefit plans. ERISA applies to most small-business employee benefit plans, whether those plans are established by the employer, the employees, or a combination of the two. ERISA does not cover plans established solely for workers' compensation, unemployment or disability benefits.
  
  

Family and Medical Leave Act

• The Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) allows small-business employees to take up to twelve weeks of leave in each calendar year to care for a family member or for their own medical reasons, and requires the employer to hold the employee's job for that period of time. FMLA applies to all small businesses having 50 or more employees for 20 consecutive weeks in the current or previous calendar year. To be eligible for FMLA leave, an employee must have worked at least twelve nonconsecutive months for an employer, and have worked for at least 1,250 hours in that twelve months.