Page 36 - YourSource November 2016

INDUSTRY NEWS
ARE YOU READY FOR NEW OVERTIME RULES?
by Laura H. Corvo, Esq.
On December 1, 2016, the United States Department of Labor’s new overtime rules extending overtime pay eligibility to most salaried white col- lar workers earning less than $913 per week ($47,476 per year) go into effect. Businesses across the country should be developing plans to comply with these new rules, which mark the largest expansion of overtime eligibility since the 1970s and which will significantly impact employers operating in the retail sector.
WHAT DO THE NEW RULES CHANGE?
The new overtime rules more than double the salary threshold employers must pay for an employee to qualify for the “white collar” exemption to the overtime requirements of the Fair Labor Standards Act, which require workers to be paid time and a half for hours worked in excess of 40 hours per week. Specifically, the new rules increase
the salary threshold for employees classified as executive, administrative or professional from $455 per week ($23,660 per year) to $913 per week ($47,476 per year). In addition, the new overtime rules increase the salary threshold employers must pay Highly Compensated Employees (HCE) or those
white collar workers earning at least $100,000 to maintain their exemption from overtime requirements, from $100,000 to $134,004.
In addition to the increasing the salary thresholds, the new rules contain a provision which automatically increases the new $913 per week threshold every
36 YOURSOURCE NOVEMBER 2016