What You Need to Know About Overtime Pay for 'White-Collar Employees'

The Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) exempts certain categories of "white-collar employees" from the overtime pay provisions of that statute. Unfortunately for employers, the correct application of those exemptions is difficult and often misunderstood. Even more unfortunate is that the consequences of even innocent mistakes can be extremely costly for employers. That situation has prompted demands for fundamental revisions of the regulations that the United States Department of Labor (DOL) promulgated decades ago to provide criteria for exempting white-collar employees from mandatory overtime pay. Regrettably, that sorely-needed reform appears to be hopelessly ensnarled in politics as the parties position themselves for next year's national election. This article will examine both the proposed changes to these regulations and what employers can do to help protect themselves until change is effectuated.