On July 26, 2017, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) published a Request for Information (RFI) regarding overtime pay regulations under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA).  DOL is soliciting comments on the 2016 overtime pay changes for certain executive, administrative and professional employees as the agency works to potentially formulate a new proposal to revise overtime pay regulations.

In June, DOL filed legal briefs indicating it would not defend the Obama administration’s overtime pay rule after twenty-one states and dozens of business groups filed suit in the eastern district of Texas to stop DOL from implementing rules they say would substantially increase employment costs. Under the FLSA, most workers are entitled to minimum wage and overtime pay for hours worked above 40 hours. However, there is an exemption from overtime pay, known as the “white collar” exemption, for certain executive, administrative and professional employees that earn no less than a standard salary threshold and meet duties criteria. 

The 2016 overtime pay rule would have almost doubled the salary threshold at which “white collar” employees could be exempt from overtime pay from $23,660 ($455 per week) to $47,476 ($913 per week). In November 2016, a Texas U.S. District Court judge issued a nationwide injunction, blocking  DOL from implementing the new overtime pay rules scheduled to take effect on December 1, 2016.  Under the rule, 4.2 million additional workers would have been eligible for overtime pay.

In 2015, NACo submitted comments to DOL expressing concerns over the increased administrative and financial burden the rule would impose on the nation’s counties, which employ more than 3.6 million people and provide services to over 305 million county residents. In June 2016, Mineral County, Nev. Commission Chair Jerrie Tipton testified on behalf of NACo before the House Committee on Small Business on DOL’s  overtime rule. Additionally, NACo released a comprehensive “Analysis of the Impact of the U.S. Department of Labor’s Overtime Rule on Counties.”

Comments on the overtime pay RFI are due by Sept. 25, 2017. NACo is planning on submitting comments.  Please email NACo’s Associate Legislative Director Daria Daniel, ddaniel@naco.org  with information on the potential impact on your county and/or suggestions for updating the overtime pay exemption for “white collar” employees. You may also click here to submit your own comments.

NACo Resources:

Click here to read NACo’s Analysis of the Impact of the DOL Overtime rule on Counties

Click here to read NACo’s comments to DOL on the Proposed Overtime Rule

Click here to read the County News article on Commissioner Jerrie Tipton’s testimony before the House Small Business Committee