Mar 7, 2018
On March 5, 2018, the California Supreme Court decided how an employee’s overtime pay rate should be calculated when the employee earns a flat sum bonus during a single pay period. In Alvarado v. Dart Container Corporation of California (Alvarado), the Court determined that when calculating overtime in pay periods…
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May 18, 2016
On May 18, 2016, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) announced the publication of a final rule amending the white collar overtime exemptions to the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). The final rule, which will be published in the Federal Register on May 23, 2016, increases the threshold salary for…
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May 19, 2016
Let’s face it — it could have been worse for employers. Yesterday’s blog post outlined the provisions of the final rule with changes to the federal Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) salary threshold for overtime exemption, from $455 per week or $23,660 annually to $913 per week or $47,476 annually.…
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Sep 17, 2018
Question: How do we handle overtime pay calculations for hourly employees when they receive nondiscretionary bonuses? Answer: A nondiscretionary bonus is a bonus based on an employee meeting criteria such as production, sales, quality, efficiency, or other performance standards. The federal Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) requires that overtime pay be calculated…
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May 25, 2016
Most of the attention with the recently-released Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) final rule for “white collar” overtime exemption focused on the change in the salary threshold for positions related to administrative, professional and executive exemptions. But what about the other FLSA job categories, such as salespeople or computer professionals,…
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Sep 24, 2019
Question: What should employers do to prepare for the January 1, 2020, effective date of new DOL white collar exemptions? Answer: On September 24, 2019, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) announced a final rule to update and revise Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) white collar exemptions by raising the…
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Apr 21, 2016
On March 15, 2016, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) sent its final rule revising the white collar and highly compensated employee overtime exemptions under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB). Review by OMB typically takes between 30 and 60 days and…
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Aug 8, 2014
Question: Can an employer deny paying overtime when the time is not pre-approved? If not, what are the options? Answer: Technically, if an employee is clocked in to work, the employee is to be paid for work performed regardless of authorization. According to the federal Department of Labor (DOL) regulations:…
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Jul 2, 2019
Question: Should we include holidays, PTO, vacation, or other leave taken during the workweek in calculating overtime premium pay under FLSA rules? Answer: No. Because holiday, PTO, and vacation hours are not actually hours worked they do not count towards overtime pay. Under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), an…
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Sep 15, 2016
Most employers should be reviewing payroll budgets and job descriptions to ensure that changes to salaries and job classifications are all in order by the December 1 deadline based on the new overtime exempt salary threshold and other final rule changes to the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). Another area…
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Apr 21, 2017
The change in the regulations that would increase the salary threshold for overtime exemption that was all over the news for the last several months may now be decided by the end of June. The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals has granted the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) another 60-day…
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May 24, 2016
Question: When the new FLSA overtime exemption rules go into effect on December 1, 2016, can bonuses and commissions be used to satisfy the standard salary level test? Answer: Yes. For executive, administrative, and professional employees, you may use nondiscretionary bonuses and incentive payments (including commissions) to satisfy up to…
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