Department of Labor Proposes New Overtime Rules

The United States Department of Labor (DOL) has proposed a rule that would extend overtime pay to salaried workers earning less than $55,000 a year. Currently, salaried “executive, administrative or professional employees” making over $35,568 are exempt from overtime eligibility. The proposal, if finalized, would likely grant an additional 3.6 million salaried workers the ability to get paid “time-and-a-half” if they work over 40 hours in a week. Additionally, the salary threshold for overtime eligibility would be automatically updated every three years to “reflect current earnings data”.

It is anticipated that salaried employees in the hospitality, manufacturing, and retail industries would be most impacted by the proposed rule. The National Association of Manufacturers expressed immediate concern with the proposal, saying, “The DOL’s proposed rule would inject new regulatory burdens and compliance costs to an industry already reeling from workforce shortages and an onslaught of other unbalanced regulations. Creating new regulatory processes and imposing additional mandatory costs will act as a drag on the sector and upend productive employer–employee relations.”

The rule is not finalized and will undergo the federal rulemaking process. Once published in the Federal Register, the proposed rule will be open for a public comment period of 60 days.

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