Sometime soon, your e-mail inboxes are going to be bombarded from attorneys telling you that you need to pay attention NOW to new overtime rules by the U.S. Department of Labor. ROFL.
At least based on what we know now, it’s best taking a lesson from my teenagers and ignoring the messages and hype (and all the text abbreviations too.) SMH.
Late last week, Bloomberg news reported that the DOL is considering changing the rules regarding who is eligible to receive overtime by increasing the salary threshold from about $24,000/year to $35,000. IKR?
In plain English, employees who make less than $35,000 would have to be paid overtime on any hours worked over 40 — no matter what their duties are. MEGO.
If all this sounds vaguely familiar, you may recall that the Obama-era proposed rules were enjoined by a court before implementation and then we had an election. Those proposed rules would have set the bar even higher to approximately $47,000. RIP.
But here’s the thing – we don’t have anything yet. And when released, the proposed rules will be just that — proposed. They are still very much subject to change. And even then, there will likely be a significant period of time before implementation. My guess — and it’s just that — would be late 2019 or early 2020 at the earliest. SWAG.
For now, here’s the one thing to think about: If you have any exempt employees that are paid about $35,000 or less, keep in mind that you may need to start paying them overtime…at some point. MEH.
But remember: Just because you are paying employees a salary does not mean you’re following the law. Employees must also have “duties” that are exempt — typically, professional, executive or administrative.