Exempt or Non-Exempt?

On June 17 at Cornell’s ILR NYC Conference Center, the Labor and Employment Law Program will host “Exempt or Non-Exempt: The New USDOL Regulations” with M. Patricia Smith, U.S. Department of Labor solicitor.

The symposium-style breakfast forum will focus on the federal labor department’s new overtime rules, which make an estimated five million Americans eligible for overtime pay.  

"The new Department of Labor regulations involving overtime are a game changer for employers,” said Esta R. Bigler, director of the Labor and Employment Law Program.

“Approximately 4.2 million white collar workers will be impacted by these new rules, which raise the minimum salary for exempt workers approximately 50 percent from $455 to $913 per week," she said.

"These new rules require employers to adjust their timekeeping and payroll systems to ensure they don't run afoul of the new regulations, which now require automatic increases in the minimum exempt salary every three years."

The overtime changes announced in May are scheduled to go into effect Dec. 1.

Some business groups say the new overtime rules are too rigid and will limit opportunities for employees and cause employers to reduce employee hours in order to pay for the additional expense, according to Bigler.

Workers’ advocates, on the other hand, believe that the regulations are long overdue and will help employees who have been exploited be paid commensurate with their work.

Rachel Bien, partner at Outten & Golden LLP, and Allan Bloom, partner at Proskauer Rose LLP, will join Smith and Bigler in leading the discussion. Geared toward law professionals, the forum will focus on the new regulations and how implementation will impact clients.

For more information, visit www.ilr.cornell.edu/law/events.