By Christopher Yeh
Last June, the U.S. Department of Labor published proposed changes to federal overtime regulations. We discussed it last year, and Duane Morris analyzed them in detail last July.
On May 18, 2016, the Department of Labor published its Final Rule for purposes of distinguishing between overtime-eligible employees and those “white collar” employees (i.e., executive, administrative, professional, outside sales, and computer employees) who may be exempt from the minimum wage and overtime requirements of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA).
Currently, the rules provide that employers do not have to pay overtime to certain employees earning more than $455 per week, or $23,660 per year. The Final Rule doubles that threshold to $913 per week, or $47,476 per year. As a result, employers will be required to pay overtime to more workers.
The Final Rule also modifies the exemption for “highly compensated employees,” and modifies the salary basis test to permit employers to include non-discretionary bonuses, incentive payments, or commissions.
The new rules go into effect December 1, 2016, which gives restaurateurs time to plan accordingly.
For details on the new rules, including and analysis of how they will impact employers, see this Duane Morris Alert.
Duane Morris will be hosting webinars to discuss the new rules. They will take place on June 2, 2016 and June 16, 2016. Details for registration are in the Duane Morris Alert above.