With the new DOL overtime rule for salaried employees, I’ve just told my employees to not work overtime. Is there anything else I need to do?
The new regulation takes effect on December 1, 2016. It requires employers to pay overtime to salaried employees, working in excess of 40 hours, who earn less than $913 per week, or $47,476 per year.
We’ve all encountered situations that require salaried employees to work more than their regular, 8-hour day. And we can’t expect employees to be proactive in communicating the potential for overtime pay. How an employer handles this situation is critical to ensuring HR compliance.
First, employers need to know how many overtime hours employees are currently working on a regular basis. Tracking hours before the effective date of the new rule, allows organizations to understand, and to develop plans for the potential impact of those overtime hours.
The plan needs to include how they will track the hours worked by the newly overtime eligible employees, as of December 1st. Failure to track hours and recognize when overtime is payable could lead to a violation of the regulation.
Employers need to decide how to address potential overtime and their available options. Will supervisors monitor time worked and send employees home after they work 40 hours? Can tasks be shifted to others that won’t require OT pay? Should overtime expense be added to budgets?
Planning now is critical, call Simplifi HR Solutions to support your planning to ensure your organization is prepared.
Tim Reed, Co-Founder and CEO
(A version of this article first appeared in The Business Journals, September 12, 2016)