New rules entitle most salaried white-collar workers earning less than $913 per week or $47,476 a year to overtime pay.  When last updated in 2004, salary level was set to $455 per week or $23,660 a year.   The increase is set to go into effect on December 1, 2016.

See full Summary of Ruling:  US Department of Labor Overtime for White Collar Workers Final Summary

What does this mean for employers?

It is estimated that over 4.2 million workers will be affected by this rule based on salaries.  Many employers will have to choose whether to increase employee’s salaries to the new salary requirement ($47,476/year), pay employees overtime for work performed or limit workers to 40 hours a week.

Moving forward:

The rule will be automatically updated every 3 years.  This will not only protect employees from not receiving proper compensation for work performed, but also will allow employers to easily adapt to changes knowing when the salary updates will occur and how they will be calculated.

The W. H. O’Connell & Associates Team