Q: We have always considered our business office staff as exempt. Can we continue under the final overtime regulations released on May 18?
A: That depends on a few factors. First, because you are asking, I'll assume that you are paying them less than $913 per week ($47,476 annually). This makes them non-exempt.
The law President Obama has just signed states, starting December 1, 2016 employee(s) making less than $47,476 a year must be paid over-time if they work over 40 hours in any given week. This means you will have to keep track of hours worked by employees. Employees don't have to punch a time clock per se, but you will need to track employee time.
The new rules do not mean you have to convert them from salary to hourly, however, you do have to increase their salary for weeks they worked over 40 hours by time and a half. You do this by calculating what their hourly salary would be and then paying time and a half.
As you start instituting the final rules, you may need to change your employee polices and update your employee handbook. You will need to have updated materials in your employee's hands by December 1, 2016. It's important to note, employees answering emails or make calls from home after-hours counts as time worked.
This new law does not apply to doctors, lawyers, or teachers.
You can read more from the Wage & Hour Division of the Department of Labor.
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