New United States Department of Labor’s Overtime Final Rule and its Application to State and Local Governments

On May 18, 2016, the Department of Labor (“DOL”) announced changes to the overtime rules of the Fair Labor Standards Act (“FLSA”). The changes and how they affect private employers is summarized in Kronick’s most recent Labor and Employment Legal Alert.

The DOL also addressed the provisions of the FLSA that uniquely apply to public sector employment and provided guidance for public agencies with respect to ways to implement the overtime changes. The DOL reiterated that while the new annual minimum salary threshold for overtime exemption is increasing, public employers have additional options to help offset the increase by availing themselves of the ability to implement compensatory time off agreements with their employees and the up to 28-day work periods that can be declared by public safety employers. The specific guidance can be found on the DOL’s website.