After a protracted battle that included a lawsuit against the former Administration, the United States Department of Labor finalized new overtime rules.
These new rules will mean that 1.3 million employees will either be getting raises or will start drawing overtime under federal law.
Under the current federal rules, Colorado employers may claim salaried administrative and managerial employees exempt from overtime requirements, meaning that the employer can expect its employee to put in lengthy hours without having to pay the customary time-and-a-half.
However, to qualify for this exemption, an employer must pay the employee at least $23,000, which comes to slightly less than $450 a week. Most employers would have no problem paying this in order to get an exemption.
Under the new rules, which will go into effect on January 1, the threshold moves to over $35,500. While this increase is substantial, it is far less than what the previous Administration originally proposed. Originally, the proposal was to increase the threshold to $47,000, with the amount to increase depending on the rate of inflation.
Many workers, over 2.8 million, may be left disappointed by the relatively modest change in the rule. Still, it will mean that for some workers in the Denver area, they will be to expect their employers to pay them overtime, raise their base salaries or make sure that if they are going to work for a lower salary, they only have to do so for the equivalent of 40 hours a week.
As the rule goes into effect, many Denver employees may find that they have valid wage and hour claims against their employers. Even now, some employees may already be getting misclassified as exempt from overtime. A victim may wish to consult with an experienced attorney to go over his or her options.
