mobile menu

Overtime Laws Require Acceptance and Planning

Attorney Bradley R. Johnson contributed his employment law expertise to a recent Jacksonville Business Journal article on how overtime laws require acceptance and planning.

The article outlines President Obama’s change to the Fair Labor Standards Act that would mean an estimated 4.2 million workers would no longer qualify as an exempt salaried employees and would be eligible for overtime starting Dec. 1.

The most drastic impact on employers is changing the line under which salaried employees don’t have to be paid overtime. Before the announcement, a worker could make as little as $23,600 a year and, if other conditions were met, be exempt from receiving overtime compensation. The new floor will be $47,476.

Johnson stated that this law will be applicable to employees that work remotely or after hours answering emails and that companies looking to avoid problems further down the line should have clear policies about work from home.

“Employees can say, ‘Listen, I worked 40 hours during the work week, and then you had me responding to emails on the nights and weekends,” said Johnson. “That can add up fairly quickly and you may not think about it, but that’s work and it can be overtime.”

Employers will be required by law to keep track of each hour worked by their nonexempt employees and there will now be millions more of that employee type.

 

Follow us on LinkedIn for more content updates