By Kate McGovern Torone, Editor
For a Limited Time receive a
FREE Compensation Market Analysis Report! Find out how much you should be paying to attract and retain the best applicants and employees, with
customized information for your industry, location, and job.
Get Your Report Now!The new Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) salary threshold will not apply in Puerto Rico when it takes effect for the rest of the country this winter.
The new rule will “have no force or effect” in the commonwealth, under a provision of the Puerto Rico Oversight, Management, and Economic Stability Act (PROMESA) signed June 30 by President Obama. PROMESA was aimed at resolving Puerto Rico’s debt crisis but lawmakers added the overtime rule exception to the legislation in recent weeks.
The bill states that the rule cannot take effect there until: (1) the Comptroller General submits a report to Congress assessing the effect the rule will have on Puerto Rico’s economy; and (2) the Secretary of Labor provides a written determination to Congress that applying the rule in Puerto Rico will not have a negative effect on its economy.
The comptroller’s report—which the secretary must consider—must take into account "regional, metropolitan, and non-metropolitan salary and cost-of-living differences." It is due to Congress June 30, 2018.
The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) in its new regulations set the salary threshold for overtime exemption at $913 per week, which amounts to $47,476 annually. The change will take effect for the rest of the country December 1, 2016. (For more information, see Final Overtime Regulations (Slideshow): What Employers Need to Know.)
|  Kate McGovern Tornone is an editor at BLR. She has almost 10 years’ experience covering a variety of employment law topics and currently writes for HR.ComplianceExpert.com and HR.BLR.com. Before coming to BLR, she served as editor of Thompson Information Services’ ADA and FLSA publications, co-authored the Guide to the ADA Amendments Act, and published several special reports. She graduated from The Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C., with a B.A. in media studies.
|