KemLaw

With family life increasingly complicated, it’s become common for employers to allow salaried employees to work flexible or flex-time schedules. This arrangement allows employees with children or aging parents to leave work early and finish projects as their time permits – often in the evening.

While this practice has brought great relief to many families – its days appear numbered.

The U.S. Labor Department has just announced new regulations that will soon require employers to pay overtime to entry-and mid-level salaried workers. Salaried employees likely to be impacted are those making between $45,000-$52,000 a year (official levels to be announced soon).

What will these new regulations mean from a practical standpoint? They will force entry and mid-level employees and their employers to meticulously track hours worked.

The new regulations will require employers to track entry and mid-level salaried employees’ phone calls made off-site, hours put into reports written at home, and time put into writing/responding to emails remotely. Failure to do so will result in penalties.

What should we expect to be the effect of this new rule?

Many employers will respond by cutting back on flexible work options and force employees under a certain wage level to do 100% of their work in their office.

There are currently as many as 25 million Americans who telecommute at least once a month.

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