WASHINGTON--CUNA is sharing support and concerns for the DOL’s new Overtime Rule.
The U.S. Department of Labor’s rule amended the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) to increase the threshold salary level for overtime pay to the 40th percentile of weekly earnings for full-time salaried workers. The final rule increases the standard salary level from $455 per week ($23,660 for a full-year worker) to $913 per week ($47,476 for a full-year worker).
In its comment to the DOL, CUNA stated that the overtime rule raises the threshold by nearly double and establishes requirements for having to come into compliance with automatically updating salary and compensation levels occurring every three years.
“Credit unions support the intent of the overtime rule, however, they have concerns that it sweeps in a disproportionate number of credit unions and that there are recurring compliance burdens associated with it,” wrote CUNA. “A substantial percentage of credit union employees, specifically employees of smaller credit unions and those in rural or underserved areas, fall under the salary threshold to be eligible for overtime pay under the new rules.”
As the DOL notes in its RFI, litigation challenging the 2016 Final Rule is currently pending before the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals and in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas. By district court order, the Department is enjoined from implementing and enforcing the final rule as currently written, CUNA noted.
As this litigation continues, we appreciate the DOL's analysis of the rule to determine whether it is having unintended consequences for employees and employers and causing unreasonable compliance burdens on a recurring basis,” CUNA stated.