Nate Oleson Quoted by Westlaw on New Labor Department Overtime Rules

Westlaw Journal Employment has quoted Akin Gump labor and employment partner Nate Oleson in the article “Employers must prep as new overtime rules loom, attorneys advise” regarding the Department of Labor’s new overtime rules.

The article reports that the rules permit more salaried workers to earn overtime pay and they adjust how employers can calculate compensation. There are two lawsuits, however, that have been filed seeking to block the rules’ implementation, including one brought by 21 states that allege the rules will increase employment costs. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce and more than 50 other business groups say in their own suit that the department lacks the authority to issue the rules.

Oleson said he expects employers outside the high-cost-of-living centers on the East and West coasts, plus retailers, nonprofits and service-based industries, to feel the biggest immediate impact of the new rules. Those organizations, he said, “likely will need to overhaul the compensation system for a significant portion of their white-collar workforce.” He added that he believes the most significant aspect of the new rules may be the automatic increases to the maximum salary level that employers will have to build into their budgets.

Oleson also pointed out that he would not be surprised “to see the salary amount accelerate faster than anticipated by the [Labor Department] as more workers are taken off of salaried compensation as a result of the new regulations.”