Home Communication News Informer | October #2

Informer | October #2

Posted on Tuesday, October 15, 2024
Print the Informer
FLSA

Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) raised the exemption salary test from a minimum of $684 weekly ($35,568 annually) to $844 per week ($43,888 per year) on July 1st of this year (2024),  and on January 1, 2025, it will go to $1,128 per week ($58,656 per year). What does this mean for you, the employer?

To start, it is essential to understand the FLSA. It is a federal law that regulates many aspects of employee payment, including minimum wage, overtime pay (exempt vs. non-exempt), and recordkeeping. One of employers’ most significant points of contention is discerning whether their employees are non-exempt or exempt. 

Nonexempt Employees must be paid overtime for hours worked over 40 in a workweek at one and one-half times their regular pay rate. 

  • The 7(k) exemption applies specifically to law enforcement and firefighters and provides a more extended period for calculating overtime.

Compensatory (Comp.) Time is only allowed for public entities and is paid instead of overtime. Comp. time must be calculated at a rate of at least one and one-half hours for each overtime hour worked.

Public employers can set policies limiting the maximum accrual of comp. time hours for their employees, as long as it doesn’t exceed the FLSA maximums. 

Exempt employees are exempt from overtime pay. To qualify as exempt, an employee must meet the requirements of a series of tests. 

The first is the salary test, as listed in the initial paragraph. To be classified as an exempt employee, the FLSA says they must be paid a predetermined amount of compensation each pay period weekly or less frequently. The amount must be maintained based on quality or quantity of work. Currently, exempt employees also must be compensated at a rate of $844 per week ($43,888 per year).

If you have an employee who is less than this amount and you are not paying them overtime or comp time, you need to go back and pay them for overtime hours worked since their salary was below the threshold or change their pay over the minimum salary threshold.

The next test is the duties test, which is based on the actual job duties that the employee performs. The two duties test that are the most common when determining if a city employee is exempt are:

Executive employee exemption requires:

  • Management of the city or a city department;
  • Direct supervision of two full-time employees or the equivalent; AND
  • Authority to hire, fire, or ability to make recommendations that carry significant weight.

Administrative employee exemption requires:

  • Primary duty involves office or non-manual labor related to the management or general business operation of the city AND
  • Exercise discretion and independent judgment with respect to matters of significance.

For more information, reach out to your Human Resources or employment attorney.


slip&fall Page 2

It may feel like snow and ice are a long way away, but it will be here before you know it. To help prevent slip and fall claims, IMWCA has Safety Study Implementation grants available to assist members with purchases of approved slip-resistant footwear.

If you are interested in submitting a grant request please go to Safety Study Grant for more details and for the grant application form. If you have any questions please contact Dean Schade or call 515-657-2899.

Submit your application soon before the snow starts to fly.


THANK YOU to everyone who attended one of our Claims Regional Training this past month. Take a look at some of the things our members learned:

  • “Back to work programs are essential for employers long term premium costs.”
  • “Great reminder that any offer of light duty should be in writing, with the employee’s signature acknowledging acceptance or rejection of the assignment.”
  • “The training has me looking at our current policies to see where we have room for improvement.”

OneDayUniversity 2025STD 01 2

Do you have a topic idea for IMWCA University, April 23-24? Let us know!

Informer Newsletter

Our bi-monthly newsletter includes information about IMWCA as well as timely topics of general interest, including safety and health.