The new overtime rules—requiring a minimum weekly salary of $913 ($47,476 annually) for most exempt executive, administrative, or professional employees—are scheduled to take effect on December 1.

Remember that both overtime pay (for non-exempt employees) and the salary basis test (for exempt employees) are calculated on a workweek basis, and that each workweek–a fixed and regularly recurring period of seven consecutive 24-hour period–stands alone (29 C.F.R. §§ 778.103-105, § 541.602).  For a non-exempt employee, all hours worked by the employee during the workweek must be totaled in determining overtime eligibility for that workweek.  An exempt employee subject to the salary basis test must receive the full salary for any week in which the employee performs any work, subject to a limited number of exceptions.

The effective date of the new rules falls on a Thursday.  If your workweek begins on an earlier date (for example, Sunday, Nov. 27, or Monday, Nov. 28), you will need to consider your obligations under the workweek rules summarized above–both for employees who are being reclassified to overtime-eligible, and for exempt employees whose salaries are being increased, in light of the new rules.

Please see our earlier posts on the new rules and contact a member of our Wage and Hour group if you have any questions about the new rule.