Hours of work and the Fair Labor Standards Act: A study of retail and wholesale trade, 1938-1950

When the Fair Labor Standards Act was first implemented,, a 5% reduction in the length of the standard workweek reduced by at least 18% the proportion of men and women working more than 40 hours per week. This analysis, based on monthly time series data from 1935-41 BLS surveys and individual-level data from the 1940 and 1950 censuses, shows that the Act's impact was large r in the South, where the proportion of men and women working over 40 hours fell by 23% and 43%, respectively, than in the North. Because of much lowe r pre-Act wages in the South than in the North, the minimum wage provisions of the Act were much more binding in the South, and southern employers wer e less able than northern employers to adjust straight-time wages in respon se to the Act's overtime provisions.