LANSING – It is becoming more and more urgent for
employers to review their policies that address off-site work. New proposed
rules from the Department of Labor governing exempt employment are likely
to go into effect at the end of this year. When they do, they will almost
certainly expand considerably the number of non-exempt employees. Those
employees will all become eligible for overtime pay.
What off-site work are we talking about? Think
about work conducted over electronic devices.
Today most exempt employees are expected to be
connected to work through their smartphones, many of which are
employer-provided. This work connection can be 24/7. Although it
typically costs the employee in terms of free time, it does not present a legal
problem to the employer.
The story is different for non-exempt employees,
however. For them, time spent on work communications before or after normal
hours is considered time worked, and therefore compensable under wage and hour
rules. Today the number of pay claims against employers by allegedly non-exempt
employees is small. But plaintiff attorneys are eagerly anticipating a huge
increase in the number of such claims after the new rules go into effect.
Formerly exempt employees will be reevaluating the demands placed on their time
via their electronic devices, and will look for legal redress when they decide
they are aggrieved.
To read the rest of this story, click on https://www.sbam.org/Resources/newsid438/1934/Coming-wage-and-hour-rules-will-challenge-off-hour-and-electronic-device-policies
