On December 1, the pay threshold for non-exempt employees will be raised from $23,660 to $47,446. Additionally, the classification for exemption has narrowed, meaning that employees once considered executive, professional or administrative might be eligible for overtime pay.
On December 1, the pay threshold for non-exempt employees will be raised from $23,660 to $47,446. Additionally, the classification for exemption has narrowed, meaning that employees once considered executive, professional or administrative might be eligible for overtime pay. These changes will likely affect many of you.
The question, naturally, has been asked about how a district employing someone who might work over 40 hours per week could handle this with the least amount of financial fallout. Depending on your particular situation, some possibilities might be as follows:
1. Increase salary to above the threshold in order to keep the employee exempt.
2. Keep salary the same but pay overtime when it occurs (which would of course give the employee a raise).
3. Figure out approximately how much overtime will be worked and lower the salary to compensate for it, then pay the overtime as it occurs (thereby keeping the total pay about the same as it previously was). Due process will have to be given if this route is taken.
4. Use compensatory time to pay for any overtime worked (being mindful that FLSA limits it to 240 hours per year). If you do this, it needs to be in policy.
5. Use creative scheduling in weeks where there might be overtime so as to avoid the employee working over 40 hours in those weeks.
Because this issue has such potential impact on districts, the OPSRC is bringing in a Department of Labor employee on November 9th to give training on overtime and the new rules. It is free to attend. If you are interested in attending, you may register here.
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Amid budget cuts—and probably more budget cuts—OPSRC would like to remind you that RIF assistance is available to our member schools. Now that springtime is just around the corner, it’s a good time to begin thinking in terms of whether you need to implement a RIF for the ensuing fiscal year, and if so, what you need to do. Some RIFs are quite complex, requiring a lot of thinking through and strategizing.
We at OPSRC pride ourselves on providing high-quality professional development for our member schools, and in the coming school year, our goal is to greatly increase the number of PD opportunities to which those teachers and leaders have access.
Can you believe the school year is almost over? Just a few weeks remain with your students, and then summer begins! We've all heard the myth that educators “take summers off” while lounging by the pool, but OSPRC knows summers are when the real work begins to prepare for next year.
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