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Wage and Hour Division (WHD)

Instructions for Forms WH-200, WH-201, and
WH-202

The Payment of Subminimum Wages to Full-Time Students Under Section
14(b) of the Fair Labor Standards Act

Section 14(b) of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) authorizes certain types
of employers to pay subminimum wages – wages less than the federal minimum wage
– to full-time students, but only after applying for and receiving a certificate
from the U. S. Department of Labor.

A full-time student, for purposes of this limited exception, is a student who
receives primarily daytime instruction at the physical location of a bona fide
educational institution, in accordance with the institution’s accepted
definition of a full-time student. A full-time student retains that status
during the student’s holiday recess, summer, and other vacations if local law
requires attendance at the end of the vacation period. If attendance is not
mandatory, full-time student status is determined by the student’s intention
stated to the employer. A student who has graduated from high school and informs
the employer of plans to attend a college or university on a full-time basis at
the end of the vacation period may be presumed to be a full-time student.

Full-time students may be employed under the subminimum wage provisions of
section 14(b) in retail or service establishments or in agriculture. An
institution of higher education may also employ its full-time students at
subminimum wages after making proper application. Such employment is permitted
to the extent necessary in order to prevent the curtailment of opportunities for
employment of full-time students.

The subminimum wage rate for full-time students may not be less than 85
percent of the applicable statutory minimum. It can, of course, be more than 85
percent. The chart below displays the federal minimum wages as determined by
Congress, their effective dates, and the minimum amount a full-time student may
be paid under FLSA section 14(b):

Effective Date

Minimum Wage

85% of Minimum Wage

July 24, 2009

$7.25

$6.17

If the minimum wage increases, the student may be paid not less than 85
percent of the new minimum wage on the effective date of the new minimum wage.
The factor of 85 percent may not be applied against (used to reduce) any other
subminimum wage program such as the Youth Minimum Wage authorized by section
6(g) of the FLSA. Please note that the scheduled increases in the federal
minimum wage do not impact the Youth Minimum Wage which will remain $4.25 per
hour.

There are three different kinds of applications that may be used to apply for
authority to pay full-time students subminimum wages under section
14(b):

WH-200

Designed to be used by Retail or Service Establishments or Agricultural
employers to request authority to employ full-time students at subminimum
wages for a total number of hours that:
(1) equal 10% of the total
monthly hours of employment, or
(2) are greater than 10% of the total
monthly hours of employment.
Employers must submit a separate
application for every establishment where he or she will employ such
students.

WH-201

Designed to by used by an Institution of Higher Education that wishes
to employ its student’s at special minimum wages. A separate application
must be submitted for every campus where such students will be employed at
less than the minimum wage.

WH-202

Designed to be used by Retail or Service Establishments or Agricultural
employers to request authority to employ 6 OR FEWER full-time students at
subminimum wages. Employers need to submit only one application to cover
all establishments, but may not employ more than 6 full-time students at
subminimum wages on any one work day throughout the entire
enterprise.

Completed applications should be forwarded to the Wage and Hour Division
National Certification Team:

U.S. Department of Labor
Employment Standards Administration
Wage and
Hour Division
Attn: National Certification Team
230 S. Dearborn Street,
Room 514
Chicago, IL 60604-1757
Telephone: (312) 596-7195

What if I have questions as I complete the application?

Both the WH-226 and the WH-226A include detailed instructions. Read them
carefully. However, if you still have questions, you may wish to contact the
Certification Team member who covers your state.

For questions concerning the processing of certificates, mail questions to
ATTN: National Certification Program Manager at the U.S. Department of Labor,
Wage Hour Division, National Certification Team, P. O. Box 56447, Atlanta, GA
30343-0447.

Note: In order to view, fill out, and print PDF forms, you
need Adobe® Acrobat® Reader® version 5 or later, which you may download for free
at http://www.dol.gov/cgi-bin/leave-dol.asp?exitURL=http://www.adobe.com/products/acrobat/readstep2.html&exitTitle=Adobe%20Systems%20Incorporated.
To save the completed forms on your workstation, you need to use the "Save..As"
method to save the file.
For example, move your mouse curser over the PDF
link and click on your "RIGHT" mouse button. This will cause a menu to be
displayed, from which you will select the proper save option -- depending upon
which browser you are using:

For Microsoft IE users, select "Save Target As"

For Netscape Navigator users, select "Save Link As"

Once you've selected the proper save option for your browser, and have saved
the file to a location you specified, go to your program menu and start the
Adobe Acrobat® Reader. Once open, locate the PDF file you saved and open it
directly in Acrobat®.

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