Changes Likely To Exemptions Under The FLSA

President Obama and the Department of Labor have indicated that they will reveal proposed revisions to the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) sometime in early 2015. One of the areas that will be impacted concerns employee “classification.” That is, whether an employee is classified as “exempt v. non-exempt” and thus, entitled to overtime pay or not.

Currently, the FLSA provides that all non-exempt workers are entitled to receive overtime pay at a rate of one and one-half times their standard rate of pay for all hours worked in excess of 40 in any workweek. However, exempt employees are not entitled to overtime pay regardless of the number of hours worked. An experienced Georgia FLSA attorney can provide you guidance if you have questions concerning whether you are exempt v. non-exempt.

Exemptions include those workers “employed in a bona fide executive, administrative, or professional capacity.” However, this exemption is subject to the worker earning at least $455/week. It is anticipated that this minimum salary requirement may be increased, allowing more workers to be entitled to overtime pay. Further, another area expected to be affected is the duties test that determines who qualifies for the “executive” exemption. Generally, the “duties test” involves a review of the primary duties of an employee – for example, whether the employee directly manages other employees, such as hiring, firing, disciplining, training, scheduling, or supervising. Currently, these employees may be found exempt, even if their managerial duties comprise less than 50% of their time. However, it is likely that this will change – allowing more workers to be allowed overtime pay where their managerial duties take up less than half of their time.

For more information concerning the FLSA or classification, please contact the dedicated Atlanta wage and hour lawyers at Buckley Bala Wilson Mew LLP for an immediate case evaluation.