WAGE AND HOUR- WHO’S THE BOSS? PART II

I recently wrote about whether or not people who work are truly management for purposes of determining overtime qualification or exemption. It boils down to this: If you’re really a manager and on salary, you’re exempt from overtime. If you’re not really a manager, no matter what they call you, and you’re hourly, you’re entitled to overtime. If you’re not really a manager, no matter what they call you, and your salary is less than $455 a week, around $23,000 a year, you’re entitled to overtime.

Chasing a rabbit off on a tangent, what does $455 a week have to do with it? That’s the threshold set by the US Department of Labor, and as of this writing in mid-2017, it went up. A lot. More than double. The Obama administration raised the threshold to $47,476 a year, meaning that many white-collar workers making less than a $47,476-year-salary would be entitled to overtime for hours worked over 40 per week. How many were affected? Several million people.

Now the bad news. A federal judge blocked the new standard. Then we elected a new president who’s against the new standard. The new standard may not hold. And we’ll be back to the $23,000 threshold.

But, back on track, what do I mean, “no matter what they call you”? I mean being called “boss” isn’t the end of the discussion. It isn’t your title that determines eligibility, it’s your job function. They may call you manager, or assistant manager, or lead person, or on-duty supervisor, or whatever. If you spend your time doing the same work as everyone else, you may be entitled to overtime for hours worked over 40 per week, just like everyone else.

Wouldn’t it be great to get paid more for all that hard work and responsibility?