A matter of time.

• Author: Sutherland, Spencer

[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

What you need to know about the new overtime rule.

Big changes are coming to overtime pay for white-collar workers. A new rule from the Department of Labor, aimed at making it easier for low-wage workers to be paid for working extra hours, is set to take effect in December. The new rule, which more than doubles the salary threshold for overtime exemption, will not just impact an estimated 36,000 Utah employees, but their employers as well.

U.S overtime laws date back to 1938, when President Roosevelt implemented the Fair Labor Standards Act. As a result, employers are required to pay their employers time-and-a-half for any time worked beyond a 40-hour workweek. However, white collar workers can be exempt from receiving overtime if they make at least $22,660 a year and perform executive, professional or administrative duties. Starting in December, that salary threshold for exempt status will be raised to $47,476.

What's white collar?

Though the salary level for exempt status will increase at the end of the year, the duties test used for defining the different categories of white-collar worker--executive, professional, administrative--will remain the same.

To be categorized as an executive employee, workers must have a role in managing the business and regularly direct the work of two or more employees. "Executive employees usually use a significant amount of discretion and independent judgment in their job duties," explains Bryan Benard, partner at the law firm Holland & Hart, LLP, and the firm's practice group leader for labor and employment.

The professional exemption is reserved for workers with degrees beyond a bachelor's who are doing work that involves advanced knowledge. Professional workers could be accountants, lawyers or even very specialized computer software developers. The professional category also includes positions deemed to be highly creative like writers or art directors.

The administrative exemption is toughest to define and is reserved for employees who have significant input or responsibility for decisions that will affect the business. "An employee who makes decisions about which vendors to use and how much to pay them would likely qualify for the administrative exemption," Benard says. "An employee who just calls the vendor to check prices or schedule a meeting may not."

What the change means

Nearly every industry in the state has exempt workers who will not meet the new salary threshold, Benard says. "A lot of employers have assistant managers, executive assistants, and...