Make Less Than $35,568? Starting January 1, You Get Overtime

The Department of Labor has just raised the minimum amount employees must make to be considered exempt for overtime, from $23,660 to $35,568, starting January 1. You still have to also meet one of the exemptions, such as administrative, professional, executive, computer professional, or outside sales, and still have to be paid on a salary basis rather than hourly.

This new rule will add about 1.3 million workers to the employees entitled to be paid overtime if they work more than 40 hours/week. So yay!

Here's DOL's summary of the rule's effects:

• raising the “standard salary level” from the currently enforced level of $455 per week to $684 per week (equivalent to $35,568 per year for a full-year worker);
• raising the total annual compensation requirement for “highly compensated employees” from the currently enforced level of $100,000 per year to $107,432 per year;
• allowing employers to use nondiscretionary bonuses and incentive payments (including commissions) paid at least annually to satisfy up to 10% of the standard salary level, in recognition of evolving pay practices; and
• revising the special salary levels for workers in U.S. territories and the motion picture industry.

While this is good news, I'd note that President Obama was going to raise the amount to $47,000, but this administration stopped that from happening. So if you make between $35,568 and $47,000, you should reflect your displeasure when you vote next year.

This new rule won't be automatically increased for inflation, so it may be decades before we seen another increase. Enjoy it while you can.

More States Fight Back On Low Wage and Surprise Noncompetes

Once legislators woke up to the fact that employers were running amok with noncompete agreements, imposing them on sandwich makers and other low-level employees, some states took action. Here are some new state laws that limit noncompete agreements:

• Maine: The Act to Promote Keeping Workers in Maine, which went into effect this week, bans no-poach or non-solicitation agreements with other employers; prohibits noncompetes for employees earning at or below 400% of the federal poverty level, mandates pre-employment disclosure of non-compete agreements; says non-competes can't take effect until after one year after the employee is hired or 6 months after the employee signs the agreement, whichever is later; and imposes $5000+ fines for violations.
• New Hampshire: New Hampshire already required employers to provide a copy of a required non-compete agreement to potential employees before the employee accepted any offer of employment. Starting September 8, NH employers can't force low-wage employees, meaning “an employee who earns an hourly rate less than or equal to 200 percent of the federal minimum wage,” to sign noncompetes.
• Rhode Island: The Rhode Island Noncompetition Agreement Act, signed in July, and going into effect next year, will bar employers from entering into or enforcing noncompetes with hourly employees, undergraduate or graduate student interns, employees 18 or younger, and low wage employees (those employees whose annual earnings are not more than 250% of the federal poverty level).

Michigan has a bill working its way through the legislature limiting noncompetes. So do Vermont and Pennsylvania.

If you think sandwich makers and other low wage employees shouldn't be prohibited from moving on to better paying jobs, and that employers shouldn't be able to surprise new employees with noncompetes after they start, tell your state legislators to get with it and join the pro-employee movement banning low wage and surprise noncompetes.

 

You Don't Have To Work In Dangerous Post-Hurricane Conditions

After a storm, I usually get lots of calls and emails about employers making employees work in conditions they deem unsafe so I thought I'd repost this for those affected by Dorian. In general, you don't have to work in unsafe conditions. Here's what OSHA says about workplace safety:

You have the right to a safe workplace. The Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 (OSH Act) was passed to prevent workers from being killed or seriously harmed at work. The law requires that employers provide their employees with working conditions that are free of known dangers. OSHA sets and enforces protective workplace safety and health standards. OSHA also provides information, training and assistance to workers and employers. Workers may file a complaint to have OSHA inspect their workplace if they believe that their employer is not following OSHA standards or that there are serious hazards. Contact OSHA at 1-800-321-OSHA (6742) if you have questions or want to file a complaint. We will keep your information confidential. We are here to help you.

OSHA also has a flyer about safety during disaster cleanup here. Some basic safety rules:

• Keep an adequate amount of clean water for drinking.
• Make sure workers are trained to do any complex or hazardous tasks.
• Provide the proper equipment such as gloves, respirators, boots, lifting equipment and eye protection.

A host of other specific fact sheets are here. Some particularly useful ones for hurricanes are:

• Hand hygiene and gloves in flooded areas.
• Chart of hazards and protective measures to take.
• Working outdoors in warm climates.
• Protecting workers from the effects of heat.
• Debris removal guidelines.

Bottom line for employers is: don't be stupid. Don't have employees in business attire climbing ladders and removing debris. Make sure employees are properly dressed. Don't cheap out and try to use your clerical employees to move downed trees or work around downed power lines. The lawsuit you will face when someone is seriously injured or killed will cost you way more than hiring the correct folks for the job.

The worker's page for reporting problems and with more resources is here.

By the way, if your "exempt" employees are doing debris removal or other scut work, they probably aren't exempt from overtime for that work. But that's another issue for another day.