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Martin, Browne, Hull & Harper pll

Employment Law Update – Overtime

May 20, 2016

What is changing with the new Overtime Rule?

The U.S. Department of Labor issued the final version of its new overtime exemption rule on May 18, 2016. These rules were designed with the stated goal of ensuring that 35% of all workers nationwide would qualify for overtime benefits. As a result, many employers will soon face new financial challenges in dealing with formerly exempt employees no longer meeting the criteria for exemption. Employers may find themselves faced with the choice between raising salaries of currently exempt employees on the one hand, or dealing with additional overtime costs on the other.

Below is a brief summary from the Ohio State Bar Association regarding DOL’s new exemption requirements. These new standards are set to take effect on December 1, 2016.
Should you have any questions regarding this new guidance, or desire more detailed analysis and advice, feel free to contact us.
Overtime pay is changing: What Is Changing
The U.S. Department of Labor has posted its final overtime rule. The Final Rule updates the salary and compensation levels needed for Executive, Administrative and Professional workers to be exempt, in particular it:
• Sets the standard salary level at the 40th percentile of earnings of full-time salaried workers in the lowest-wage Census Region, currently the South ($913 per week; $47,476 annually for a full-year worker); and
• Sets the total annual compensation requirement for highly compensated employees (HCE) subject to a minimal duties test to the annual equivalent of the 90th percentile of full-time salaried workers nationally ($134,004)
Automatic Updates and Salary Basis Test
• Establishes a mechanism for automatically updating the salary and compensation levels every three years to maintain the levels at the above percentiles and to ensure that they continue to provide useful and effective tests for exemption.
• Additionally, the Final Rule amends the salary basis test to allow employers to use nondiscretionary bonuses and incentive payments (including commissions) to satisfy up to 10 percent of the new standard salary level.
Effective Date
The new rule takes effect Dec. 1, 2016. The initial increases to the standard salary level (from $455 to $913 per week) and HCE total annual compensation requirement (from $100,000 to $134,004 per year) will be effective on that date. Future automatic updates to those thresholds will occur every three years, beginning on January 1, 2020.

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Springfield attorney Randall M. Comer named OSBA president-elect

Springfield attorney Randall M. Comer named OSBA president-elect

Apr 29, 2016

Springfield attorney Randall M. Comer named OSBA president-elect

Columbus, Ohio (April 29, 2016) – Springfield attorney Randall M. Comer was elected to become the Ohio State Bar Association’s (OSBA) president-elect today at the OSBA’s All-Ohio Legal Forum in Cincinnati. Comer will take office as OSBA president on July 1, 2017.

Comer, a partner with Martin, Browne, Hull & Harper, PLL since 2008, is a civil trial attorney specializing in labor and employment, workers’ compensation, and contract disputes. He earned his bachelor’s degree from the College of Charleston in 1993, and his law degree from the University of Cincinnati College of Law in 2000. In addition to the OSBA, he is a member of the Clark County Bar Association, the Dayton Bar Association and the Green County Bar Association. Comer is an Ohio State Bar Foundation Fellow. He was also selected for Ohio Super Lawyers® 2011-2013, and for Ohio Super Lawyers Rising Stars® 2005.

Actively involved in his community, Comer serves as the chair of the Clark County Mental Health Foundation and as a trustee for the Community Health Foundation. He also serves on the Springfield Foundation’s Governance Committee and the Selective Service Board.

Counting his family as his greatest blessing, Randall enjoys spending time with his wife, Tamara, and three children: Grace, Grant and Matthew.

“I am truly honored to have been elected to further serve our esteemed association,” Comer said. “As president-elect, I will continue to build upon the great work started by others and strive tirelessly to ensure that the OSBA retains its proper place as the number one bar association in the country.”

The Ohio State Bar Association, founded in 1880, is a voluntary association representing approximately 22,000 members of the bench and bar of Ohio, as well as nearly 4,000 legal assistants and law students. Through its activities and the activities of its related organizations, the OSBA serves both its members and the public by promoting the highest standards in the practice of law and the administration of justice.