Should executive directors and HR directors still prepare themselves for the U.S. Department of Labor overtime rule revision scheduled to take effect on December 1? The short answer: Yes.
As a reminder, here are some of the key changes:
- Under the current rules, employees whose annual salary is $23,660 or less automatically qualify for overtime pay. The revised rules specify that anyone making $47,476 or less will automatically qualify.
- Employers who wish to avoid paying overtime may choose to increase employees' salaries—especially for those who are close to the revised figure—or reduce their work hours.
- Those who make more than $47,476 can be considered exempt from overtime pay if they fall within other guidelines involving professionals who have an advanced degree and/or a certain amount of autonomy in their work.
- There will still be a category for highly compensated workers who are automatically exempt from overtime pay. Currently, the threshold is a salary of $100,000 per year; this will increase to $134,000.
Since we first told you about the rule revision and how it may affect you, there have been some efforts to delay its implementation or halt it altogether. A number of states and business organizations filed lawsuits with that aim, and the U.S. House of Representatives voted in favor of a six-month delay. However, at press time, neither of those attempts seemed likely to result in the revision being scrapped, or the December date being moved.
If anything significantly changes between now and December, you will see an update in an issue of NABE Bulletin, Bar Leader Weekly, or both. ABA Journal has also been covering this story, and you may want to go straight to the source: a FAQ sheet from the DOL itself.