The Department of Labor or DOL recently released new federal overtime regulations that will take effect December 1 of this year. The new DOL overtime rules may have a tremendous effect on some San Diego employers as the new overtime threshold increased to $913 a week or $46,467 per year. The good news for many employers is that the new DOL overtime rules do not require them to implement timekeeping devices or other electronic or complex tracking methodologies in order to comply, as long as you keep accurate records of “on duty” hours worked.
The existing exemptions for lawyers, doctors and other professionals remains untouched, and educational exemptions for most teachers, adjunct college faculty, and athletic coaches remain, as well as those for university and secondary education administrators. There are twists related to some educational positions including recruiters and post-doctoral instruction personnel. These odd quirks are not limited to education, as the new DOL overtime regulations still provide exemptions for most farm workers, maritime employees, truck drivers, airline pilots and even such industries as “home-based wreath makers” and “rural elevator operators.”
The laws concerning independent contractors under the new DOL overtime rules do not apply to properly classified independent contractors. However, recent changes in DOL policies have changed the nature of how these relationships are classified making it considerably more difficult to consider workers as independent contractors instead of employees. The new DOL overtime rules also do not change the “duties tests” regarding classification of those who are exempt from overtime as executive, administrative, professionals, IT professionals or outside sales representatives.
What must you do to ensure that you are in full compliance with the new DOL overtime rules and how can you ensure the proper classification of “exempt” versus “non-exempt” employees? The wage and hour attorneys at the Watkins Firm counsel our clients in all matters of employer related laws and regulations to ensure compliance and to avoid disputes and litigation, especially in areas of wage and hour and unpaid overtime.
We invite you to contact us for a free consultation at 858-535-1511.
