The U.S. Department of Labor (“DOL”) issued and published the final rules regarding overtime pay for employees. These rules double the salary threshold for overtime pay, which means an estimated 4.2 million additional American workers will qualify for overtime pay when they work more than 40 hours in a week. There are a number of key highlights related to these rules:

• Beginning December 1, 2016, any worker who earns a salary of less than $47,476/year will qualify for overtime pay, regardless of their job duties. The previous threshold was a salary of $23,660/year. In Pennsylvania alone, approximately 22% of the workforce will be affected by this change.

• The threshold will be adjusted for inflation every three years thereafter. The first adjustment will be posted on August 1, 2019, in advance of the effective date of January 1, 2020.

• No changes are made to the “duties test” in regard to whether certain employees are entitled to overtime.

In arriving at the final published rules, the DOL received more than 270,000 comments.

Zator Law is available to assist should you need specific advice regarding the new rules or how the new rules will impact your business.