New Overtime Rules Bad News For Employees?
In 2004, new overtime rules by the U.S. Department of Labor took effect regarding when and how employers making more than $500,000 in revenue must pay their employees for overtime work. The new overtime rules are mostly bad news for employees, according to Steve Strauss, a lawyer, author and speaker, in his USA Today article “New Overtime Rules Are Mostly Bad For Employees.”
The good news he says is that almost all employees who make less than $455 per week ($23,660 a year) are eligible for overtime pay. The old overtime rule set overtime pay for anyone who made less than $250 per week. The new overtime rule applies whether the overtime employee is a blue collar worker or a white collar worker, or regardless of whether they supervise people or not (an exception is for teachers, doctors and lawyers — they do not get overtime, no matter how much they are paid).
Unfortunately, the bad news, according to Strauss, is that:
- Any employee who earns more than $100,000 per year is not eligible for overtime pay.
- Any employee who earns between $23,660 and $100,000 a year, and who is in a qualifying executive, professional, or administrative position, is not eligible for overtime.
- Managers are not entitled to overtime if they oversee two or more people and have the authority to hire, fire, or recommend that someone be hired or fired.
- Administrative employees who have decision-making power and run some sort of operation are not eligible.
- Employees whose jobs require imagination, invention, originality, or artistic or creative endeavors are not eligible for overtime.
- Employees whose main duties are computer-related and involve the implementation, analysis, development, or application of computer systems or designs are also not eligible for overtime.
- sales staff that regularly work outside of the employer’s place of business are not eligible either.
Well, have the new overtime rules been good news or bad news for you?
If you were employed and you believe that your employer has not paid you all of the overtime pay, hourly wages, salary and other benefits that you believe your employer owes you, tell us your story!
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