NewsBeat

August 2016 NewsBeat 15 Department of Labor issues final overtime rule NYPA, NNA, NAA, the New York Business Council, and a host of others, have been working for months to moderate the Department of Labor's (DOL) proposed rule to increase the salaries test used to determine whether an employee qualifies for overtime. The DOL's original proposal would have increased the threshold of $23,660 to $50,440 annually — a 113 percent increase — without accounting for regional differences in cost of living. On May 18, the Department of Labor released its Final Rule with only modest changes. While we are still evaluating the Final Rule, this is what you need to know: The salary threshold will increase from $23,660 to $47,476 In the Final Rule, the Labor Department set the salary threshold to the 40th percentile of weekly earnings for full-time salaried workers in the lowest wage Census Region — the Southeast — rather than based on national data as originally proposed. This sets the new salary threshold to $47,476 to be implemented December 1, 2016. Although nearly $3,000 less than the proposed $50,440 threshold, it is still a 100% increase from the current threshold of $23,660. The standard salary level will automatically update every three years The Department's proposed rule called for an automatic annual update to the salary threshold. In the Final Rule, the Department stated that the salaries test will be updated every three years and will be tied to the 40th percentile of salaried workers in the lowest-wage region (likely to remain the Southeast). Employers can count nondiscretionary bonuses, incentives, and commissions toward salary level For the first time, the new standard would permit employers to count nondiscretionary bonuses, incentives and commissions toward up to 10 percent of the required salary level for the standard exemption, as long as those amounts are paid on a quarterly (or more frequently) basis. In any given quarter — if an employee does not earn enough in nondiscretionary or incentive pay, the Final Rule permits employers to make a "catch-up" payment to maintain the employee's exempt status. NYPA endorses common- sense overtime bill by House Democrats NYPA supports a proposal by four House Democrats to phase in an increase in the threshold salary requirements for overtime-exempt employees. A bill by Reps. Kurt Schrader, Oregon; Jim Cooper, Tennessee; Henry Cuellar, Texas; and Collin Peterson, Minnesota, would help small businesses to comply with a new rule by the U.S. Department of Labor that would will increase the salary threshold by about 100 percent in one leap on Dec. 1, 2016. The Overtime Reform and Enhancement Act would instead impose a 50 percent increase in December and then phase out the remainder over four years. These congressmen understand the burden the new law will create for small and medium size businesses. Most publishers will be hard pressed (read: unable) to increase salaries by 100% or more to comply with the new regulations. But publishers also understand that professional journalists are entitled to earn a living wage. The overtime threshold sets a floor for the annual salaries of executives considered exempt under the Wage and Hour Act. Today's threshold is $23,660. It is to be raised to $47,446 on Dec. 1 under a rule imposed upon businesses by the Department of Labor. It will go into effect unless Congress adopts a more moderate rule. Many small businesses, including many non-profits, restaurant owners, and homebuilders, have said the steep increase would cripple their abilities to support their workforces and carry out their missions.

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