As we previously reported, the newly released Final Rule updating overtime regulations under the Fair Labor Standards Act takes effect December 1, 2016.

Among other changes, these new regulations nearly double the minimum salary for “white collar” exempt executive, administrative and professional workers to $913 per week ($47,476 annually for a full-year worker).  Here are a few key points to keep in mind as your company prepares for the new rules to kick in:

• Now is the time to reevaluate your overtime exposure. The pending application of the new overtime regulations should prompt each employer to reexamine whether it is properly applying the overtime laws – old and new.  If changes are needed, this is the time to make them, coordinating with the December 1 effective date of the Final Rule.
• Advance preparation is essential to anticipate and make any adjustments to your workforce to limit the costs of complying with the law.  Taking action to reorganize the workforce, change employees from salary to hourly, limit overtime, and redefine jobs to meet the exemptions can all dramatically reduce overtime risk, cost, and exposure.
• Job descriptions should be reviewed and revised to fit the job being performed and any exemption being claimed. Job descriptions are often important evidence that the Department of Labor and courts examine to determine whether an exemption applies.

Michael Homans is a Labor & Employment attorney and founding partner of HomansPeck LLC. For more employment law updates, including news and links to important information pertaining to legal developments that may affect your business, subscribe to Michael’s blog, or follow him on Twitter @EmployLawUpdate.