Proposed Overtime Rule Expected

As a result of the expected publication of a proposed overtime rule, the U.S. Department of Labor will recommend higher salary thresholds for white-collar exemptions as soon as next month. “Employers should expect a proposed salary amount that at least, approximates the amount proposed in 2016,” stated Alfred Robinson Jr., – an attorney with Ogletree Deakins in Greenville, South Carolina. The proposed salary level for the Fair Labor Standards Act’s executive, administrative, and professional exemptions could be a minimum of $913 per week or $47,476 per year. By comparison, the Trump administration in 2019 implemented a salary level of $686, which represents a considerable increase. 

Jason Barsanti explained that the 2016 regulations were ruled to “put too much emphasis on the salary requirement, thereby effectively making the duties test[s] irrelevant.” The duties test determines which employees are exempt from overtime pay, and it depends on a variety of factors:

• Executive exemption – Managing the enterprise, a department or a subdivision of the enterprise must be the employee’s primary duty.
• Administrative exemption – The primary duty of the employee must be office or non-manual work that is directly related to the management of general business operations of the employer or the employer’s clients.
• Professional exemption – Employee’s primary responsibility is to perform work that required advances knowledge in a field of science or learning that is acquired through specialized, intellectual training and study.

A primary duty can occupy less than 50 percent of an employee’s time under these tests. Additionally, it is possible to count time spent performing both exempt and nonexempt duties concurrently.

With the help of a PEO company like GMS, you no longer have to worry about following the latest legislative changes. Rules and regulations are constantly changing. Do what you do best. Outsource the rest.