Overtime Wage Protection Expanded

The United States Department of Labor (DOL) has finalized a new overtime wage rule that requires employers to pay overtime wages to employees making less than $913 per week or $47,476 per year.  Employers would have to pay such employees time-and-a-half their regular hourly rate for any hours worked over forty (40) in a week.  In determining if an employee’s salary meets the $47,476 threshold amount, employers can inlcude bonuses and incentive payments such as commissions, up to 10% of the new standard salary amount. The minimum salary threshold will be updated every three years.  The new rule will take effect December 1, 2016.

Under the prior 2004 rule, workers making less than $23,660 annually or $455 per week were entitled to overtime pay. Under that lower salary amount of $455 per week, a fast food restaruant manager who earned a salary of $455 per week and worked 60 hours per week was making less than the Florida minimum wage per hour worked.

Estimates differ on the number of salaried employees affected by the new rule.  The DOL estimates that an additional 4.2 million salaried employees will be eligible for overtime pay under the new rule.  The Economic Policy Institute (EPI) estimates that 12.5 million salaried workers currently make at least $455 but less than $913 per week.  http://www.epi.org/publication/who-benefits-from-new-overtime-threshold/  The new overtime pay rule is expected to affect the retail industry and restaurant industry the most. Managers who work overtime would now be eligible to receive overtime wages pursuant to the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) if they earn less than the $47,476 threshold salary amount.

If your employer or former employer fails to pay you overtime wages, call a wage attorney at Bober & Bober, P.A. at 800-995-9243 for a free consultation.