The Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) is a statute of inclusion, which means all employees are covered unless they fit within specific, narrowly defined exemptions. One problem is that it was designed for the Model T manufacturing plant and has grown in sometimes haphazard and inconsistent ways.

Economists have been predicting a recession for months, but the labor market has remained resilient, wage growth is higher than before the pandemic, and inflation continues to drop, now at 4% compared to 9.1% in June of last year. Despite this good news, consumers don’t feel confident about the future, according to the consumer confidence index, which is at a six-month low.