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05/20/2016
 
Posted By: FTC Admin




White House releases DOL Overtime Regulations

The Department of Labor will unveil new federal overtime regulations today. Vice President Joe Biden, DOL Secretary Tom Perez and Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) are expected to announce the rules this afternoon. The new regulation is proposed to take effect December 1, 2016 and:

Raises the salary threshold to $47,476 a year ($913 a week). That's double the current salary threshold of $23,660 ($455 a week).
• Automatically updates the salary threshold every three years, tying it to the 40th percentile of full-time salaried workers in the lowest-income Census region (currently the South). The first update would be Jan. 1, 2020. Based on current wage trends, the DOL projects a salary threshold of $51,000 by Jan. 1, 2020.
• Makes no changes in the duties tests used to determine whether a salaried employee above the threshold is considered an executive, administrative or professional employee and thus exempt from overtime pay.
• For the first time, allows certain bonuses and incentive payments to count toward up to 10 percent of the new salary level.
Opposition will continue

The DOL moved ahead with these regulations despite widespread opposition. Hundreds of lawmakers have joined with employer and nonprofit groups in criticizing DOL for failing to accurately estimate the rule's impact. It is expected that immediate legislative efforts to de-fund, block or nullify the rule. Employer groups are currently evaluating potential litigation against the DOL over its process for issuing the final rule and some of its mandates.

The MRA will continue to closely monitor this situation and provide updates and advocacy efforts.


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