The Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) was established by the Department of Labor in 1938 to guarantee workers - especially those in low-paying positions - earned the wages they deserved. Primarily, the act stated employers were required to pay employees at least minimum wage rates set by the federal government and overtime for any hours worked past 40 during a week.

As a provision to the act, the Department of Labor included collective bargaining agreements (CBAs). These documents enable businesses to negotiate certain terms of employment with their workers, but they must be agreed upon and signed by both parties to be valid.

Unfortunately, the Department of Labor has found some employers have abused this policy, proposing collective bargaining agreements that disadvantage employees. The FLSA maintains that employees are usually not allowed to sign away their basic labor rights to minimum wage and overtime pay regardless of the terms of a signed CBA.

As with most documents pertaining to employment conditions, it's advisable that business owners have CBAs reviewed by a lawyer before distributing them. If a firm does not have a full time staff on hand, they might consider outsourcing human resources to reduce liability of FLSA violations.

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