DOL Issues Final Rule Revising Overtime Regulations

On May 18, 2016, the Department of Labor raised the minimum salary level that certain employees must be paid to qualify as exempt from the overtime pay requirements of the Fair Labor Standards Act. Under current regulations, executives (supervisors), administrative employees and professionals, must both perform “exempt” duties as defined by the DOL and be paid a guaranteed salary of at least $455 a week ($23,660 annually). This new regulation significantly increases the salary threshold to $933 a week ($47,476 annually), however, it does not alter the primary duty test. The federal government predicts that the new rule will result in companies having to pay an additional 4.2 million employees overtime, boosting wages for workers by $12 billion over the next ten years.

Additionally, as noted in comments included in a recent Law360 article, the DOL’s rule, while potentially extending overtime protections to 4.2 million more employees, may also have adverse effects for certain employees. In an effort to offset costs businesses may incur as a result of the new rule, both in terms of the expense associated with ensuring compliance, as well as having to pay overtime to formerly exempt employees or sufficiently increasing an employee’s salary so as to maintain the exemption, certain employers may reduce rates of pay, cut back scheduled hours to reduce risk of overtime, or offer less generous benefits to non-exempt employees.

A link to the new rule can be found here: https://s3.amazonaws.com/public-inspection.federalregister.gov/2016-11754.pdf

Lindsey L. Dunn
LDunn@williamsparker.com
941-552-2556