Kansas City Managing Partner Advises Businesses to Prepare for the New DOL Overtime Rule

The Department of Labor’s proposed new overtime rule has the potential to make about 1 million more U.S. employees eligible for overtime. In an interview with the Kansas City Business Journal, Kansas City Managing Partner Jim Holland advised employers to closely watch the proposal to avoid running into expensive legal troubles.

Holland recommended evaluating whether to keep employees who are exempt from overtime on salary or move them to hourly pay.

“If you have a salary in place, you need to pay it even if [the employee misses] a day of work,” Holland said. “If you take someone who is currently exempt and decide you’re not going to raise their salary to the new level, you’re better off just turning them into an hourly employee and only paying them for the hours they work. It’s just easier to keep out of trouble.”

Holland also advised business owners to not change anything yet, but to wait until the DOL puts out its final rule.

To read the article, visit the Kansas City Business Journal.