When new overtime regulations for the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) take effect December 1, churches may be especially burdened by the requirements.

The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) released new regulations earlier this year that require employers to pay time-and-one-half for hours worked beyond 40 in a workweek to any employee who is paid less than $913 per week (which amounts to $47,476 annually).

While employers in the public sector can sometimes offer “comp time” and other companies can pass costs along to consumers, churches may find themselves with fewer options, says Michele Brott, an attorney with Davis Brown and an editor of the Iowa Employment Law Letter.

We asked Brott to explain how the FLSA and the new regulations apply to churches. Her answers are included in the Q&A below.

How does the FLSA apply to churches?

The FLSA’s minimum wage and overtime provisions generally apply to churches and their employees. Courts, however, have created an exemption for ministerial personnel.

According to DOL, this means that nuns, monks, priests, lay brothers, ministers, deacons, and other members of religious orders who serve pursuant to their religious obligations in the schools, hospitals, and other institutions operated by their church or religious order are not “employees” protected by the FLSA.

Brott said that nothing in the overtime rules should change this. “The case law surrounding FLSA has maintained a ministerial exception and presumably that will continue,” she said.

Which employees will be most affected?

Nonexempt church staff—such as musicians, bookkeepers, and janitorial staff—will be most affected by the new regulations, according to Brott.

Churches also may have to carefully consider whether any preschool teachers they employ will be exempt. Only if their primary duty is teaching (as opposed to caring for children) are preschool teachers exempt from the law’s minimum wage and overtime protections, she said.

Will implications for churches be different than those expected for other employers?

Church staff will be affected similar to private sector employees, Brott said. If they earn less than $913 per week, they must be paid overtime for hours worked beyond 40 in a workweek.

Churches themselves, however, may be more burdened by the change than other employers, according to Brott. “The new rules will affect churches more greatly than the private sector because of the budgeting constraints,” she said; “[T]here is no way to ‘pass on’ the costs.”

What options does a church have for controlling these costs?

To control costs, churches can adjust schedules to avoid overtime, raise employee wages if they are close to the $47,476 threshold, or obtain outside volunteers from the congregation, Brott said. (For more on employers’ options for adopting the new rules, see New overtime regulations require $47,476 salary for exemption.)

But unlike state and local governments, churches cannot give employees “comp time” in lieu of overtime pay, Brott said. “You also cannot allow your employees to volunteer to do their regular jobs,” she added. “Volunteerism must be bona fide and not part of their regular work tasks.”