REVISED RULING: As of November 28
On Tuesday November 22, 2016, the U.S. District Court in the Eastern District of Texas granted a temporary nationwide injunction that postpones the implementation of the changes to the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) overtime exemption rules which were to go into effect on December 1, 2016.
This injunction means that the new rule that stated, any employee who has a salary under $913 per week ($47,476 per year) is entitled to overtime pay for hours worked exceeding 40 hours per week, will not go into effect. The rule will remain as it currently stands, that the minimum salary threshold for overtime exemption is $455 per week ($23,600 annually).
Even though there are currently no changes going into effect, this is a great time for the local church as an employer to ensure that employees are properly classified as exempt and non-exempt based on the current salary thresholds and duties test. Thank you for your attention to this matter and keep in mind that this is still an ongoing issue, and changes are likely to come in the near future.
The United Methodist Church of Greater NJ has made every effort to ensure the accuracy of this information and it should be used for informational purposes only. Every local church should review their own unique situation.
If you have any further questions, GCFA has provided additional resources on their website at www.gcfa.org.
ORIGINAL STATEMENT
On Dec. 1, the Dept. of Labor will enact changes to the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) overtime exemption rules. The rule states that any employee who has a salary under $913 per week ($47,476 per year) is entitled to overtime pay for hours worked exceeding 40 hours per week.
Local Church Implications of this new rule are:
- Churches will need to carefully review the employment classification of their lay employees to ensure they are properly classified as exempt or non-exempt based on the new salary level minimum.
- Timesheet records must be kept for all non-exempt employees to ensure employees are compensated for hours worked in accordance with the new FLSA guidelines.
- Even though, there is no exemption for clergy included in the FLSA, courts have held that the FLSA does not apply to clergy employees. Therefore it can be concluded that, clergy employees are considered exempt.
The United Methodist Church of Greater New Jersey has made every effort to ensure the accuracy of this information and it should be used for informational purposes only. Every local church should review their own unique situation. If you have any further questions, GCFA provides additional resources here.