Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938

The Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 was originally written in 1932 by Senator Hugo Black of Alabama. His proposed law, which would be revised before its ultimate passage 6 years later, was to require employers to adopt a 30-hour workweek. At the time of his proposal, his version of the law met with strong resistance. Before the proposed law and the passage of the law in 1938, workers could be and were paid any amount their employer wanted, which was often well below their worth and meant they were barely making or not making a livable wage. It also meant there were no regulations on hours worked in a day or week and workers could and often were required to work long hours in a day or week, and for minimal pay. Before 1938, and the passage of the law, there were minimal if any regulations regarding child labor. Children were regularly employed in dangerous jobs and were kept out of school to work and also paid very little.