The Fair Labor Standards Act requires employers in Florida and around the country to pay their hourly workers overtime when they work more than 40 hours in a workweek. The law also sets the overtime rate at one and a half times the worker’s regular rate. Employers can offer higher overtime rates to encourage their workers to fill shifts, but they cannot pay them less. Outside sales representatives and professional, executive and administrative employees are usually not covered by the FLSA overtime rules, but the details of what is known as the white-collar exemption were revised in 2020 and will likely be revised again in 2023.
New DOL rules
On Jan. 1, 2020, the U.S. Department of Labor raised the overtime threshold for salaried employees from $455 per week to $684 per week. This means salaried workers who earn less than $35,568 are entitled to overtime pay if they work more than 40 hours in a workweek even if they are outside sales representatives or fill professional, administrative or executive positions. Employees who earn up to $107, 432 per year are also entitled to overtime pay under the new DOL rules if their compensation includes a salary of less than $684 per week.
Looming revision
The DOL salary threshold for overtime pay is likely to be increased again. A new rule was scheduled to be introduced in April 2022, but that date has now been pushed forward to May 2023. According to employment and labor law professionals, the revised threshold could be even higher than the $47,476 figure the DOL proposed before the last change was made.
Compliance
The consequences of failing to comply with the provisions of the FLSA can be severe, but employers can stay on the right side of the law by tracking worker hours carefully and paying overtime correctly. They should also be aware that salaried workers who fill white-collar positions are entitled to overtime pay if they earn less than $684 per week.
