Just in time for the holiday season, millions of salaried American workers will be newly eligible for overtime pay by the end of 2016.
The new overtime rules, finalized by the U.S. Department of Labor this spring, increases the annual salary limit for overtime pay to $47,446 ($913 per week). As a practical matter, this means that qualifying salaried workers making less than $47,446 will be eligible for overtime when exceeding 40 work hours in a given week. The current overtime salary limit is $23,660, or $455 week.
The overtime rules change could be a boon for qualifying salaried middle-class workers who made more than the existing threshold but nonetheless logged managerial-type hours. Another possible outcome: some could see their compensation bumped upward beyond the threshold to avoid the overtime rules.
In any event, this is yet another benefits compliance issue for companies to monitor. Firms should always be readying themselves for a Department of Labor audit; after all, it can take just one anonymous tip to get the audit process started. And with the Department of Labor championing the overtime rules changes as a major win for middle-class workers, firms would be prudent not to find themselves having to explain noncompliance.
For more information on the changes in overtime rules, contact a Plexus employee benefits client service team member at 847-307-6100 (Deer Park, Ill.), 312-606-4800 (Chicago), 972-770-5010 (Dallas) or 405-840-3033 (Oklahoma City), or contact us via the Web. December 1 is approaching fast. We’re here to help — and we are happy to help.