There’s a part of me that thoroughly enjoys a smackdown between government agencies. (The other part of me is screaming at the government inefficiency and waste of my tax dollars). Here’s a good one.
As most of you know, the U.S. Department of Labor released its proposed revisions to the overtime regulations under the Fair Labor Standards Act. The current regulations set forth three tests for exempt status: (1) the employee must be paid on a salary basis; (2) the salary threshold must be at least $455 per week ($23,660 per year); and (3) the employee must meet duties tests specific to the exemption in questions (executive, administrative or professional). As we discussed (with a highly raised eyebrow) in a previous blog, the proposed regulations contain only one actual change to these tests – an increase in the salary level to over $50,000 per year, with yearly increases thereafter.
The public was invited to submit comments on the proposed regulations – 289,932 individuals and entities took them up on that invitation. One of those was the Small Business Administration – another federal agency. The SBA has an Office of Advocacy, which represents the interests of small businesses before Congress and other federal agencies.Continue Reading Don’t Invite the SBA and the DOL to the Same Party!