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GDA to Issue Guidance on New Overtime Rules

Jun 3, 2016
Details of the U.S. Department of Labor's new overtime rule.
The U.S. Department of Labor has issued its final new overtime rule. Effective December 1, 2016, all employers will be covered by the new overtime rules, which:
1. Sets the standard salary level at the 40th percentile of earnings of full-time salaried workers in the lowest-wage Census Region, currently the South ($913 per week; $47,476 annually for a full-year worker)
2. Sets the total annual compensation requirement for highly compensated employees (HCE) subject to a minimal duties test to the annual equivalent of the 90th percentile of full-time salaried workers nationally ($134,004)
3. Establishes a mechanism for automatically updating salary and compensation levels every three years to maintain the levels at the above percentiles.

Additionally, the Final Rule amends the salary basis test to allow employers to use nondiscretionary bonuses and incentive payments (including commissions) to satisfy up to 10 percent of the new standard salary level.

The initial increases to the standard salary level (from $455 to $913 per week) and HCE total annual compensation requirement (from $100,000 to $134,004 per year) will be effective December 1. Future automatic updates to those thresholds will occur every three years, beginning on January 1, 2020.

The GDA is researching the issue and will provide guidance to dentists on what to consider when planning for the effective date. For more information, read the U.S. Department of Labor Press Release online.