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10.1 Federal & Alabama Labor Laws for HVAC Employers
Alabama HVAC Contractor License Exam
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1 Alabama HACR Laws, Rules & Licensing
1.1 Alabama HACR Board Authority, Licensing Pathways & Experience Requirements 1.2 Contractor Bonding, Insurance, Fees & Annual Renewal 1.3 Permits, Local Jurisdictions, Inspections & Disciplinary Actions
2 Contractor Business, Contracts, Estimating & Alabama Lien Law
2.1 Business Organization, Risk Management & Project Administration 2.2 Construction Contracts, Change Orders & Warranties 2.3 Alabama Mechanics' Lien Law & Financial Management 2.4 Construction Estimating, Markup & Bid Preparation 2.5 Project Management, Scheduling & Field Supervision 2.6 Risk Management, Contractor Insurance & Surety Bonds
3 Safety Standards, OSHA & EPA Section 608
3.1 OSHA Construction Safety (29 CFR 1926) for HVAC Contractors 3.2 EPA Section 608 Refrigerant Regulations & Recovery Requirements 3.3 Refrigerant Management, Leak Repair Rules & A2L Transition
4 General Technical Knowledge & Thermodynamics
4.1 Principles of Heat Transfer, Temperature & Pressure 4.2 The Mechanical Refrigeration Cycle & Refrigerant Properties 4.3 Psychrometrics & Air Properties for Humid Climates 4.4 Basic Electricity, Ohm's Law & Electrical Power for HVAC
5 Piping Systems, Refrigerant Lines & Fuel Gas Piping
5.1 Refrigerant Piping Sizing, Materials & Installation 5.2 Fuel Gas Piping Sizing & Installation (IRC Chapter 24) 5.3 Condensate Drain Systems & Trapping
6 System Sizing & ACCA Manual J Load Calculations
6.1 ACCA Manual J Fundamentals & Design Conditions 6.2 Envelope Loads: Conduction, Radiation & Fenestration 6.3 Infiltration, Ventilation & Internal Heat Gains
7 Duct System Design & ACCA Manual D
7.1 Airflow Principles, Static Pressure & Fan Performance 7.2 ACCA Manual D Duct Sizing & Friction Rate 7.3 Duct Materials, Installation Standards & Air Distribution
8 Heating & Cooling Equipment Operation
8.1 Heat Pump Systems & Supplemental Heating 8.2 Gas Furnaces & Combustion Systems 8.3 Air Conditioning Units, Compressors & Metering Devices
9 Mechanical Codes, Electrical Applications & Maintenance Diagnostics
9.1 Combustion Air & Venting Systems (IRC Chapter 24) 9.2 Electrical Applications for HVAC (NFPA 70 / NEC Article 440) 9.3 Preventative Maintenance, Troubleshooting & Plan Reading
10 Employment Law, Payroll Taxes & Contractor Finance
10.1 Federal & Alabama Labor Laws for HVAC Employers 10.2 Payroll, Employment Taxes & Worker Classification 10.3 Job Costing, Break-Even Analysis & Cash Flow Forecasting
11 Preventative Maintenance, Service Procedures & Commissioning
11.1 Preventative Maintenance Programs & Service Agreements 11.2 Filter, Coil & Drain Maintenance for Alabama's Humid Climate 11.3 Evacuation, Dehydration & Refrigerant Charging Procedures 11.4 Airflow Verification, Static Pressure Testing & Commissioning
12 Electrical Applications & Construction Documents
12.1 Electric Motors, Compressors & Motor Protection 12.2 Transformers, Control Circuits & Low-Voltage Wiring 12.3 Branch Circuits, Conductors, Grounding & Disconnects 12.4 Construction Documents, Specifications & Submittals
10.1 Federal & Alabama Labor Laws for HVAC Employers
Key Takeaways Explain This Topic AI
The Fair Labor Standards Act requires overtime at one and one-half times the regular rate for all hours worked over 40 in a single workweek; there is no daily overtime trigger and no averaging across two weeks.
The federal salary floor for the executive, administrative, and professional exemptions is $684 per week ($35,568 a year), restored after the 2024 rule was vacated and confirmed by a Department of Labor technical amendment in May 2026.
Alabama has no state minimum wage, no state overtime statute, and no state law requiring meal or rest breaks, so federal law controls those subjects.
Under the Beason-Hammon Act, Code of Alabama Section 31-13-15, every Alabama employer must enroll in and use E-Verify for new hires, with no small-employer exemption.
Coverage thresholds differ by statute: Title VII and the ADA at 15 employees, the ADEA at 20, and the FMLA at 50 employees within 75 miles.
Last updated: September 2026
10.1 Federal & Alabama Labor Laws for HVAC Employers
Important
What this subject area actually asks : Labor Laws is a discrete scored block on the Alabama HAC blueprint, drawn from the NASCLA Contractors Guide. The questions are about thresholds and triggers - how many hours before overtime, how many employees before a statute applies, which classification is exempt - not about litigation strategy.
- The Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA)
- Minimum Wage
The federal minimum wage is $7.25 per hour . Alabama is one of a small number of states with no state minimum wage law at all , so the federal rate applies directly to Alabama HVAC employers. There is also no Alabama statute requiring meal periods or rest breaks for adult workers; federal law requires that short breaks of 20 minutes or less, when offered, be paid .
Overtime
Overtime is owed at one and one-half times the regular rate for all hours worked over 40 in a workweek . Three traps recur:
The workweek is a fixed, recurring 168-hour period. Employers may not average two weeks together - 50 hours one week and 30 the next produces 10 hours of overtime, not zero.
There is no federal daily overtime. Twelve hours on Monday triggers nothing by itself.
The regular rate is not just the base wage. Nondiscretionary bonuses, shift differentials, and production or commission pay must be folded into the regular rate before the half-time premium is computed.
Worked example : an installer earns $22.00 per hour and works 46 hours, plus a $60 nondiscretionary attendance bonus.
Straight-time earnings: ( 46 × $ 22.00 ) + $ 60 = $ 1,072 (46 \times \text{\textdollar}22.00) + \text{\textdollar}60 = \text{\textdollar}1{,}072 ( 46 × $ 22.00 ) + $ 60 = $ 1 , 072
Regular rate: $ 1,072 / 46 = $ 23.30 \text{\textdollar}1{,}072 / 46 = \text{\textdollar}23.30 $ 1 , 072/46 = $ 23.30
Overtime premium owed: 6 hours × ( 0.5 × $ 23.30 ) = $ 69.90 6 \text{ hours} \times (0.5 \times \text{\textdollar}23.30) = \text{\textdollar}69.90 6 hours × ( 0.5 × $ 23.30 ) = $ 69.90
Total due: $ 1,072 + $ 69.90 = $ 1,141.90 \text{\textdollar}1{,}072 + \text{\textdollar}69.90 = \text{\textdollar}1{,}141.90 $ 1 , 072 + $ 69.90 = $ 1 , 141.90
Exempt versus Non-Exempt
An employee is exempt from overtime only if all three tests are met:
- Test Requirement
- Salary basis Paid a predetermined amount not reduced for variations in quality or quantity of work
- Salary level At least $684 per week ($35,568 per year) ; highly compensated employees at $107,432 per year
- Duties Primary duty fits the executive, administrative, professional, outside sales, or computer exemption
Warning
The salary floor has not moved. The 2024 Department of Labor rule that would have raised the threshold to $844 and then $1,128 per week was vacated by a federal district court in November 2024 , restoring the 2019 levels. A Department of Labor technical amendment issued May 15, 2026 formally removed the vacated language, confirming that $684 per week is the operative figure. Study material written in 2024 that quotes $1,128 is wrong.
Installers and service technicians are almost always non-exempt regardless of how they are paid. Calling a technician "salaried" does not create an exemption; the duties test still has to be satisfied, and hands-on mechanical work does not satisfy it. A working foreman may qualify for the executive exemption only if managing a recognized unit and directing at least two full-time employees is the primary duty.
Child Labor
HVAC work is heavily restricted for minors. Federal Hazardous Occupations Orders bar workers under 18 from operating most power-driven machinery, from roofing work, and from excavation and trenching. Alabama additionally administers its own child labor law under Code of Alabama Title 25, Chapter 8, which requires an Eligibility to Work certificate for minors and limits hours for 14- and 15-year-olds. Practical rule for a mechanical contractor: no one under 18 on a roof, in a trench, or on power equipment.
Recordkeeping
The FLSA requires payroll records to be kept three years and the wage-computation records (time cards, work schedules, wage-rate tables) two years .
Anti-Discrimination and Leave Statutes: Count Your Employees
Statute Threshold Protects
Title VII of the Civil Rights Act 15 or more employees Race, color, religion, sex (including pregnancy and sexual orientation), national origin
Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) 15 or more employees Qualified individuals with disabilities; requires reasonable accommodation
Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA) 20 or more employees Workers 40 and older
Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) 50 or more employees within 75 miles 12 weeks of unpaid, job-protected leave
- Equal Pay Act Nearly all employers Equal pay for substantially equal work
- USERRA All employers Reemployment rights for military service members
A five-truck Alabama HVAC company with 12 employees is therefore not covered by Title VII, the ADA, the ADEA, or the FMLA - but it is covered by the Equal Pay Act, USERRA, the FLSA, and the Alabama workers compensation and E-Verify statutes.
Prevailing Wages on Federally Funded Work
The Davis-Bacon Act requires payment of locally prevailing wages and fringe benefits on federally funded or assisted construction contracts over $2,000 . Related Acts extend it to many federally assisted projects. Where it applies:
Wage determinations by classification must be posted on the jobsite.
Certified payrolls are submitted weekly with a signed statement of compliance.
Apprentices may be paid at reduced rates only if registered in an approved apprenticeship program.
Alabama has no state prevailing wage law , so on purely state or local Alabama work there is no prevailing wage obligation unless the contract imports one.
Alabama-Specific Employment Rules
At-will employment. Alabama follows the at-will doctrine: absent a written contract for a definite term, either party may end the relationship at any time for any lawful reason. Employee handbooks should carry an at-will disclaimer to avoid creating an implied contract.
Right to work. Alabama is a right-to-work state; union membership or the payment of union dues may not be a condition of employment. This was long a statute and became a constitutional provision by amendment ratified in 2016.
E-Verify is mandatory for every employer. Code of Alabama Section 31-13-15 (the Beason-Hammon Act) requires every business entity and employer in Alabama, regardless of size, to enroll in E-Verify and to verify the employment eligibility of each newly hired employee. There is no small-employer exemption and no phase-in. The federal Form I-9 must still be completed independently - I-9 first, then the E-Verify case, normally within three business days of the start date.
New-hire reporting. Employers must report each newly hired or rehired employee to the state new-hire directory within seven days of the hire date.
Posters. Federal FLSA, OSHA, EEOC (if covered), USERRA, and Alabama unemployment compensation and workers compensation notices must be posted where employees can see them.
Independent Contractor or Employee?
Calling an installer a subcontractor does not make one. The Internal Revenue Service common-law test weighs three categories of evidence:
Behavioral control - who decides when, where, and how the work is done; who provides training.
Financial control - who supplies tools and vehicles, who can realize a profit or loss, whether the worker offers services to the public.
Type of relationship - written contracts, benefits, permanency, and whether the work is a core service of the business.
In Alabama the stakes are compounded: an unlicensed individual working as an independent HVAC contractor is engaging in unlicensed contracting under Title 34, Chapter 31, and the licensed contractor who arranged it may face Board discipline in addition to back taxes, back overtime, and workers compensation exposure.