DOL revises overtime pay requirements for employees.

• Position: Regulatory matters - Department of Labor - Brief Article

The U.S. Department of Labor recently issued final regulations to federal overtime pay requirements under the Fair Labor Standards Act. The "FairPay Overtime Initiative," which becomes effective on Aug. 23, 2004, was published in the Apr. 23, 2004, issue of the Federal Register. During a 90-day comment period, the DOL received more than 75,000 comments from a wide variety of employees, employers, trade and professional organizations (including the AICPA), small business owners, labor unions, government entities, law firms and others.

In its new regulations, the DOL clarified and simplified the tests for determining whether an employee meets a whitecollar exemption; raised the minimum salary requirement for exempt employees, allows employers to deny overtime to "highly compensated" employees who make at least $100,000 per year and have minimal exempt duties or responsibilities; allows employers to suspend an exempt employee for misconduct in one-day increments; provides a new "safe harbor" making it easier for employers to...