DOL Delays Decision on Overtime, May Alter Employee Pay Calculations

When the Department of Labor released its 2018 Spring Regulatory Agenda, it not only offered some insight on its progress in creating a new salary threshold for overtime eligibility, it also suggested it may alter the methods in which employees’ pay is calculated.

Specifically, the DOL said it plans to “clarify, update, and define regular rate requirements.” And, it plans to issue a proposed rule on the subject in September.

The issue over regular rate of pay refers to an employee’s typical hourly rate, a rate that is multiplied by 1.5 to determine overtime payments when employees work more than 40 hours a week.

In a statement, a DOL spokesperson said: “Regular rate regulations have not been updated in decades—even though compensation practices have evolved and clarity is needed.”

This initiative is separate from the agency’s plans to change the current overtime exemption regulations, which have been pushed back from a fall deadline to January 2019.

Labor Secretary Alexander Acosta said he plans to increase the current overtime salary threshold but has yet to offer a clear picture of the increase. Acosta has said the new threshold will be somewhere between the current $23,660 and the $47,476 amount that the Obama administration proposed.

Source: HR Morning