For Immediate Release
September 24, 2019
Contact: Kevin McKenney, 202-367-2480
 
DOL Addresses NLBMDA Priorities in New Overtime Rule

Today, the National Lumber and Building Material Dealers Association (NLBMDA) released the following statement in response to the U.S. Department of Labor’s (DOL) final rule that will raise the overtime salary limit for workers from $455 per week to $684 per week, which is equivalent to $35,568 per year for a full-year worker.

“This is a victory for the LBM industry and we are pleased that DOL agreed with NLBMDA, by name, on key points in the rule,” said NLBMDA President & CEO Jonathan Paine. “The Agency’s approach to make the overtime threshold a reasonable level, along with engaging the regulated community for future threshold increases, reflects their diligence in crafting a feasible rule for workers and employers.”

In the current final rule, DOL declined to implement automatic updates for future salary thresholds and declined to set a fixed schedule for review. It also updates the earnings thresholds necessary to exempt executive, administrative and professional employees from the Fair Labor Standards Act’s (FLSA) minimum wage and overtime pay requirements, and allows employers to count a portion of certain bonuses/commissions towards meeting the salary level. The new thresholds account for growth in employee earnings since the thresholds were last updated in 2004.

In the final rule, the Department is:
  • Raising the “standard salary level” from the currently enforced level of $455 per week to $684 per week (equivalent to $35,568 per year for a full-year worker);
  • Raising the total annual compensation requirement for “highly compensated employees” from the currently enforced level of $100,000 per year to $107,432 per year;
  • Allowing employers to use nondiscretionary bonuses and incentive payments (including commissions) paid at least annually to satisfy up to 10% of the standard salary level, in recognition of evolving pay practices.

For more information, click here for a fact sheet provided by DOL on the new rule.