What Employers Should Do to Prepare for New Overtime Policy

The Department of Labor’s (DOL) new changes to overtime exemption policy go into effect December 1, 2016. As employers prepare to comply with the new law, Faegre Baker Daniels associate Tareen Zafrullah told HRHero that they need to think about how the new policy affects their training protocols.

“[Training must address] accurately recording and reporting all hours worked, what constitutes ‘hours worked,’ avoiding off-the-clock work, clocking out and in for unpaid breaks, and avoiding performing overtime work without prior approval,” Zafrullah said.

Since overtime exemption can be viewed as a marker of an employee's advanced status, Zafrullah said employers should also prepare to address potential morale issues associated with the new law.

“The employer could also point out that classification as nonexempt does not mean the employer values the employee’s contribution to the organization any less; it simply reflects a change in legal requirements by the government.”