HR Must Determine Overtime Strategies, Communications ASAP

The article, “HR Must Determine Overtime Strategies, Communications ASAP,” discussed why human resources departments should be well on their way to implementing strategies for compliance and communicating those changes with affected employees, as the Dec. 1 effective date for the Department of Labor's overtime rule approaches.

Pamela Williams provided employers with potential HR overtime strategies.

Pamela recommended managers begin compliance with the overtime rule by compiling a list of exempt positions within their organization, examining both the salaries and duties of the employees in questions. HR and legal counsel should analyze job descriptions, job titles and information on how these employees spend their day, she added. Pamela noted that she frequently finds that employees may not necessarily be performing duties that are commensurate with their titles. “A manager can mean many different things within different organizations and different industries,” she said.

From that analysis, Pamela said, HR and employers have a range of options for a compliance strategy, including:

• increasing salaries to maintain an employee's exemption;
• reclassifying employees and paying them overtime;
• decreasing workloads or hiring additional employees;
• adjusting work schedules; and
• spreading work hours to remain below 40 in a workweek.

Potential additional issues could arise for mid-level managers that were previously exempt but are now nonexempt under the new threshold, Pamela said. Solutions to address those problems include restricting telecommuting or the use of smartphones. “Where there was flexibility in the past, there may not be due to the regulations,” she said.

To read the full article, please visit Bloomberg BNA.