The Department of Labor (DOL) has promulgated a final rule making the first significant revisions in 60 years to its regulations interpreting when compensation must be included in an employee’s “regular rate” under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). The regular rate calculation is critically important for determining how much overtime pay an employee is due. The new rule will go into effect on January 15, 2020.
The new rule makes clear that many employer-provided perks are not considered to be compensation for hours worked that must be included in an employee’s regular rate when determining proper overtime compensation. In addition, the revisions provide helpful examples of how the regular rate determination is made in the context of more modern pay practices.
Earlier this year, NT Lakis lawyers submitted written comments to DOL generally supportive of the proposed changes along with a number of recommendations for further improvements, some of which were adopted in the final rule.
A copy of the rule as published in the Federal Register on December 16, 2019, is available here.
Members of the Center for Workplace Compliance (CWC) can read more here.