Last week the long-awaited final FLSA overtime regulations were published.   The regulations are intended to make an additional 4.2 million workers eligible for overtime.  The new rules raise the salary threshold for exempt employees to $913, or $47,476 per year. The new rules also include a requirement that employers track time worked for each employee and an increase in the salary level at which employees are designated as highly compensated workers. The rule will go into effect for the pay period including December 1, 2016. 

Some commentators, including SHRM, believe the overtime regulations will be disastrous for small business and non-profits. Republican senators have introduced a resolution that would block the new rules from going into effect.  Other commentators, including Newsweek, believe the new rules will be a boon for the middle class.

We will hold a free webinar on June 2 at Noon CDT covering the new rules and what employers can do to prepare.  All are welcome.

Discrimination

• The EEOC issued its final rules on wellness programs.
• The U.S. Supreme Court held that defendants may be entitled to attorneys’ fees even if they do not prevail on the merits of a discrimination claim.
• The EEOC held a meeting on diversity within the high tech industry and issued a report on the subject.
• Business Insider speculated that the U.S. Supreme Court may have given credence to the EEOC’s stance on transgender discrimination.
• The Superintendent of Grand Canyon National Park is stepping down after an Office of Inspector General report was issued stating he did not do enough to prevent sexual harassment of park employees.

Technology

• SHRM argued for seeking assistance from experienced counsel before making a technology purchase, because noncompliant software can lead to fines.
• Fast Company asked if using artificial intelligence can make hiring less biased.
• A hacker is selling 117 million LinkedIn usernames and passwords.
• The Washington Post covered how Credit Suisse is using people analytics to make better hiring decisions long-term.
• University of Southern California Senior Research Fellow Alec Levinson issued an HR analytics manifesto calling for practitioners to use analytics wisely.
• TalentCulture advocated for the use of gamification in HR.

In other developments:

• The City of Boston's Director of Tourism, Sports and Entertainment was charged with union-related extortion.
• The New York Times reported that drug screening is making it difficult for some employers to find workers.
• A law firm in California is suing 25 anonymous reviewers on the employer-review site Glassdoor for defamation after the reviewers claimed that working at the firm was like “psychological torture.”