4 million employees to become eligible for overtime pay

The Department of Labor last week announced it’s raising the minimum salary threshold that exempts employees from being paid overtime.

Details: Currently, those in “executive, administrative, or professional” roles who make $35,568 a year or less must receive overtime pay. 

• Starting July 1, the threshold jumps to $43,888 a year and then spikes again to $58,656 on January 1, 2025.

• Employees who meet or make below the new thresholds — around 4 million of them — will be entitled to overtime pay.

• Employers will have to either raise salaries to exceed the thresholds or re-classify employees as non-exempt, paying them hourly plus overtime. 

The big picture: “Too often, lower-paid salaried workers are doing the same job as their hourly counterparts but are spending more time away from their families for no additional pay. That is unacceptable,” said Acting Secretary of Labor, Julie Su.

Of note: “Based on the job duties requirements, CSRs, [dispatchers], techs, and installers do not qualify for any of these standard exemptions, no matter how much they are paid,” Ian Schotanus, “H.R. Guy,” told Homepros.

Looking ahead: The rule is expected to be challenged in court, however, one attorney noted, “[E]mployers should not sit back and wait… They should be planning now for the new salary thresholds.”

• “If you are paying spiffs, commissions, or task pay in addition to or in replacement of hourly wages, you need to ensure clock time is being tracked and overtime is being properly calculated and paid,” Schotanus added in a Facebook post.

Plus: On a sort-of-related note, the FTC, on the same day last week, announced its intention to ban noncompetes nationwide. (Read)