On May 18, 2016, President Obama and the Secretary of Labor announced new overtime regulations that will increase the number of workers receiving overtime to all those making under $913/week. In doing so, 4.2 million more workers will be eligible for overtime by December 1, 2016. Advocates assert that the new regulation will bring more families closer to a living wage. Businesses argue that the regulations will inflict costs they will not be able to cover without decreasing base salaries or lowering the number of employees. Legislation is pending in the House and Senate that would prevent the Department of Labor from passing the regulation until they have completed "full and complete economic analysis" and worked to "minimize the impact on such employers, before promulgating any substantially similar rule" (H.R. 2016). Business interests are mobilizing to file a complaint as well.

For those who are interested in these upcoming changes to the federal wage and hour laws regarding overtime exemptions and how they may impact businesses, you can listen to a recent podcast featuring one of our attorneys, Elizabeth K. Dominey, Principal. The link is here: http://www.fed-soc.org/multimedia/detail/over-regulating-overtime-podcast.