Employers Should Prepare for A Final Overtime Rule

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Under the new leadership of Acting Labor Secretary Patrick Pizzella, the Department of Labor (DOL) is expected to move quickly on the final overtime rule. Understanding that once 2020 arrives all focus will turn to the elections, Pizzella has spoken of his commitment to focusing on what the department can realistically achieve during the remainder of this term.

Earlier this year, the DOL published a proposed rule that would make nearly a million more workers eligible to receive overtime pay. According to a Labor Department official, the final overtime rule is anticipated sometime between Labor Day and Thanksgiving.

Under the current rule, employees subject to the Fair Labor Standards Act with a salary of less than $23,660 per year ($455 per week) are entitled to overtime if they work more than 40 hours per week. Employers should pay particular attention to the final overtime rule as the DOL had proposed raising the salary threshold to $35,308 per year ($679 per week).

The proposed rule is a compromise between the current $23,660 threshold and the $47,476 cutoff that was adopted by President Barack Obama’s administration in 2016 but which later was blocked.

Though there is still time before the proposed overtime rule is expected to go into effect, employers should review current policies.