By Kate McGovern Tornone, Editor
Many employers are not prepared for new overtime regulations that take effect later this year, according to a recent report.
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Littler Mendelson P.C.’s 2016 Executive Employer Survey Report found that 28% of employers have adopted a “wait-and-see” approach to the new Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) rule.
Tammy McCutchen, an attorney in the firm’s D.C. office and former administrator of the U.S. Department of Labor’s (DOL) Wage and Hour Division (WHD), said that such an approach is ill advised. “I do not think employers should be waiting,” she told HR.BLR.com®.
Survey findings
The survey, which polled 844 Littler clients, asked in-house counsel, human resource professionals, and C-suite executives to share their level of preparation for the changes that take effect December 1. The rules will increase the salary threshold for the FLSA’s overtime exemptions to $913 per week, which amounts to $47,476 annually. The current threshold comes out to $23,660 annually.
The polling took place before the final rules were released in May but still found that 65% of employers were conducting audits. Twenty-eight percent, however, had done nothing.
McCutchen said she was surprised how many employers had taken no action, even considering the rules were only in the proposed stage.