New Overtime Rule Effective January 1, 2020

Skip Sperry December 10, 2019Blog 1 Comment

On September 24, 2019, the Department of Labor announced its final updates to the “white collar” overtime exemption rules. These new rules go into effect on January 1, 2020. These rules affect, among others, administrative, executive, and professional employees who may be exempt from overtime payments if certain conditions are met. The updates to the exemption conditions include:

Raising the standard salary condition from $455 per week to $684 per week ($35,568.00 per year for full time workers);

United States House Passes Comp Time Bill 1180

Skip Sperry May 4, 2017Blog Leave a Comment

This week, the United States House of Representatives passed House Bill 1180, which would allow private employers to offer employees compensatory time off (“comp time”) in lieu of paying them overtime for hours worked in excess of forty in any one workweek. Under this bill, comp time could be accrued at 1.5 hours for each hour of overtime worked in a workweek. Most public sector employees have had this benefit since 1985.

DoL Publishes Joint Employer Interpretation

Skip Sperry January 23, 2016Blog Leave a Comment

On January 20, 2016, the Wage and Hour Division released an Administrator’s Interpretation concerning joint employment under the Fair Labor Standards Act and the Migrant and Seasonal Agricultural Worker Protection Act. The interpretation identifies common scenarios in which two or more employers jointly employ an employee and are thus jointly liable for compliance. It pulls together all the relevant authorities – statutory provisions, regulations, and case law – to provide comprehensive guidance on joint employment under FLSA and MSPA so that employers can properly analyze a potential joint employment scenario.

Salaried Means No Overtime, Right? Ask Halliburton

Skip Sperry September 29, 2015Blog Leave a Comment

The Fair Labor Standards Act (“FLSA”) requires employers to pay most workers minimum wage and overtime to nonexempt workers for work in excess of 40 hours per workweek. Overtime must be paid unless the worker is defined as “exempt” under the Act. Many employers believe that simply paying employees on a salary basis makes them exempt from overtime, but several more factors affect the classification than whether you pay employees a salary or pay them hourly.

White House Issues Memorandum to DoL

Skip Sperry March 14, 2014Blog Leave a Comment

As expected, on March 13, 2014, the President issued a memorandum to the Department of Labor, directing the agency to revamp regulations related to overtime exemptions. In part, the President directed the DoL to:

“propose revisions to modernize and streamline the existing overtime regulations. In doing so, you shall consider how the regulations could be revised to update existing protections consistent with the intent of the Act; address the changing nature of the workplace;

Expect Obama to Push for Expanded Overtime

Skip Sperry March 13, 2014Blog Leave a Comment

Today, President Obama is expected to direct the Department of Labor to use its rule-making authority to expand overtime coverage to more American workers. Under overtime exemptions executive, professional, and administrative workers who earn more than $455 per week may be exempt from overtime pay if they meet certain job-related criteria.

President Obama will likely ask the DoL to increase that weekly threshold which would increase the number of workers entitled to overtime pay.