Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA)

The Fair Labor Standards Act requires employers to comply with minimum-wage requirements. In addition, the FLSA contains provisions on overtime pay and child labor. Not every employer is required to comply with the FLSA.  Only employers who are engaged in interstate or foreign commerce and whose gross yearly sales total or exceed $500,000 are required to comply with the Act. 

Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964

Title VII prohibits employers from discriminating against employees on the basis of race, color, national origin, religion, or gender in all aspects of employment -- from recruitment through termination. 

In order to comply with Title VII, an employer must make employment decisions on the basis of business necessity, rather than based upon a particular individual's membership in a protected class. However, there is a rarely (successfully) used exception to complying with Title VII, when there is a bona fide occupational qualification that requires an employee to possess a certain characteristic.

Note: Title VII applies only to employers with fifteen or more employees.