The Ohio Bureau of Workers’ Compensation (OBWC) has made the following announcement regarding changes to the email mailbox from which employers will be receiving their statements. It is important for employers to receive their statements as payment to the BWC may affect coverage and other matters:

Email Notices to Come From New Address
Beginning August 2, 2021, employers who receive eNotices from the BWC about their monthly invoice will receive the messages from a new email address: BWCPolicyInvoice@public.govdelivery.com. This is the latest step in their transition to a different email delivery system called GovDelivery. This new system has a different look and feel than before. If you don’t receive email notices when you normally would, please check your spam folder. If you see the email there, mark it as not spam to receive future messages correctly. Check with your email provider for instructions on how to mark messages as not spam. As we continue to increase our use of electronic communications, look for more opportunities to request eNotices on different topics concerning your policy. If you have questions, call 1-800-644-6292.

The post OBWC Announces Changes to Email Statements appeared first on Pickrel Schaeffer & Ebeling.

Under the federal tax code, individuals who take an early distribution from a retirement plan or traditional IRA are subject to a 10% tax.  There are several exceptions that apply.  One of these exceptions is a distribution made to an individual who has suffered a disability prior to such distribution.  However, could addiction be considered a disability?
In a 2018 US Tax Court case, an individual suffering from gambling addiction took early distributions from her IRA to fund her gambling addiction.  The IRS did not argue that she did not suffer from a real demonstrated addiction.  Rather, the IRS argued that her gambling addiction did not constitute a “disability” for purposes of the early withdrawal penalty exception.  The Tax Court agreed with the IRS.  The Tax Court ruled that “disability” for purposes of the early withdrawal penalty exception required the taxpayer to be “unable to engage in any substantial gainful activity by reason of any medically determinable physical or mental impairment which could be expected to result in death or to be of long-continued and indefinite duration,” and found that the taxpayer’s impairment did not prevent her from engaging in substantial gainful activity.
This is not to say that gambling addiction or any other addiction such as drug, alcohol or sex addiction could never amount to a “disability”.  But such addiction would need to be of an indefinite duration and rise to the level of preventing the individual from engaging in substantial gainful activity.
“Substantial gainful activity” includes the activity in which the individual customarily engaged before the disability arose or a comparable activity. In determining whether an individual’s impairment makes him or her unable to engage in any substantial gainful activity, primary consideration is given to the nature and severity of the impairment. Consideration is also given to other factors such as the individual’s education, training, and work experience.
An impairment is considered to be of “indefinite duration” if it cannot reasonably be anticipated that the impairment will, in the foreseeable future, be corrected so as to no longer prevent substantial gainful activity.  An impairment which is remediable is not a disability.  Nor is an individual disabled if with reasonable effort and safety to himself the impairment can be diminished to the extent that the individual could engage in his or her customary or any comparable substantial gainful activity.
The above analysis does not apply to situations where taxpayers are seeking relief from penalties assessed for failure to file returns or pay taxes on time.  In such cases, the federal tax code provides penalty exceptions if taxpayers can demonstrate their failure to pay or file on time was the result of reasonable cause.  “Reasonable cause” is generally found where a late filing or payment is caused by death or serious illness of the taxpayer or a death or serious illness in his immediate family.  Serious illness for this purpose can be based on alcohol, drug, gambling or other addictions.
For example, penalties assessed on a taxpayer who failed to file his 1983 return because he was a patient in a hospital drug and alcohol rehab center were waived for reasonable cause.   But where such alcoholism and treatment did not prevent the taxpayer from working in his private practice and attempting to reorient his career toward research and academic pursuits, there was no clear showing that the alcoholism rose to the level of reasonable cause.
If you would like to know more about the exceptions to early withdrawal penalties or reasonable cause for late filing or payment of taxes, please contact one of our tax attorneys at 937-223-1130 or Jeff Senney.

The post Early IRA Distribution for Addiction? appeared first on Pickrel Schaeffer & Ebeling.

Companies that were not eligible to take the loan, because they were large companies with other forms of liquidity that they could draw upon, may return the funds by May 14, 2020 with “no questions asked.” 

The U.S. Treasury and the SBA issued frequently asked questions (FAQs) on PPP loans. One question asks whether businesses owned by large companies with adequate sources of liquidity to support their ongoing operations qualify for PPP loans. According to the SBA FAQ, all borrowers must evaluate their economic need for a loan under the standards in effect at the time of the loan application. The standards are set by the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act, which established the PPP, as well as subsequent regulations.  Borrowers must certify that their PPP loan request is necessary due to “current economic uncertainty” that made the loan necessary to support ongoing operations. The certification must be made in good faith, taking into account the borrower’s current business activity and ability to access other sources of liquidity in a way that’s not “significantly detrimental” to the business.

Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin has stated that PPP loans of $2M or more will be scheduled for audit. The loan application notes that making a false statement to obtain a guaranteed loan from the SBA is punishable by imprisonment of up to five years and/or a fine of up to $250,000.  The federal False Claims Act (FCA) permits treble damages, or triple the amount of the government’s actual damages, as well as civil penalties, imprisonment up to five years and a fine up to $250,000 for criminal liability.  Further guidance is expected from the SBA and Treasury within the coming days.  Please contact Kristina Curry at kcurry@pselaw.com, or one of our attorneys who are prepared to assist you if you have questions regarding your PPP loan, loan forgiveness, or whether you should consider any responses to the repayment deadline date on May 14, 2020. 

The post SBA Extends Deadline for Repayment of PPP Loans appeared first on Pickrel Schaeffer & Ebeling.

• Record keeping requirements for PPP What is FTE?
• Loan Forgiveness Unemployment What are the important dates to keep in mind?
• How do I bring back employees if they have been laid off? 
• Should I be concerned about employees not returning when I can bring them back to work?
• Are there other options to consider as an employer if I didn’t get a PPP loan?

The post Free Webinar: I got my PPP Loan – Now what? appeared first on Pickrel Schaeffer & Ebeling.

Updated: 3/23/2020 In response to the coronavirus health emergency, the Ohio Bureau of Workers’ Compensation(BWC) announced that it is temporarily deferring payment of employer premiums for March, April, and May until June 1, 2020.  In addition to providing this assistance to employers, the BWC also announced that it will continue to pay Temporary Total Compensation (TT) to Injured Workers who are already receiving TT due to a work-related injury through April 30, 2020, regardless of whether the BWC receives updated certifications from the Injured Workers’ doctor.  The BWC has also suspended all Independent Medical Examinations (IME’s) through April 30, 2020.  Attached is a fact sheet published by the BWC regarding continuity of operations during the coronavirus health emergency.  Should you have any additional questions regarding how to proceed as an employer, please contact Kristina Curry at kcurry@pselaw.com or (937)223-1130. 

The post Ohio Bureau of Workers’ Compensation announces deferred payments appeared first on Pickrel Schaeffer & Ebeling.

Updated: 3/23/2020 In response to the coronavirus health emergency, the Ohio Bureau of Workers’ Compensation(BWC) announced that it is temporarily deferring payment of employer premiums for March, April, and May until June 1, 2020.  In addition to providing this assistance to employers, the BWC also announced that it will continue to pay Temporary Total Compensation (TT) to Injured Workers who are already receiving TT due to a work-related injury through April 30, 2020, regardless of whether the BWC receives updated certifications from the Injured Workers’ doctor.  The BWC has also suspended all Independent Medical Examinations (IME’s) through April 30, 2020.  Attached is a fact sheet published by the BWC regarding continuity of operations during the coronavirus health emergency.  Should you have any additional questions regarding how to proceed as an employer, please contact Kristina Curry at kcurry@pselaw.com or (937)223-1130. 

The post Ohio Bureau of Workers' Compensation announces deferred payments appeared first on Pickrel Schaeffer & Ebeling.

On March 18, 2020, Congress passed Families First Coronavirus Response Act (the “Act”) which will provide temporary assistance to employees and businesses experiencing coronavirus interruptions. The Act becomes effective April 2, 2020, which is 15 days after the President signed the bill into law. The bill contains two key provisions for employers and employees.  One is an emergency paid sick leave provision that applies generally to all employers who have fewer than 500 employees.  The other provision is an emergency expansion of the Family Medical Leave Act (“FMLA”) in order to provide up to 80 hours of paid leave to parents who must remain at home to care for a child due to the closing of schools, or non-availability of the child’s caregiver.  The Act provides for employers to seek exemptions depending on the circumstances and the number of employees the employer has.

Here are two of the Act’s key provisions:

Paid Sick Leave

Private employers who have fewer than 500 employees, and all government employers are required to provide full time employees at least 80 hours of paid sick leave. Paid sick leave can be used for the following reasons:

(1) The employee is subject to a Federal, State, or local quarantine or isolation order related to coronavirus;
(2) The employee has been advised by a health care provider to self-quarantine due to concerns related to coronavirus;
(3) The employee is experiencing coronavirus symptoms and seeking a medical diagnosis;
(4) The employee is caring for an individual who is subject to an order as described in reason (1) or has been advised as described in reason (2).
(5) The employee is caring for a son or daughter of such employee if the school or place of care of the son or daughter has been closed, or the childcare provider of such son or daughter is unavailable, due to the coronavirus.
(6) The employee is experiencing any other substantially similar condition specified by the Secretary of Health and Human Services in consultation with the Secretary of the Treasury and the Secretary of Labor.

Employees who go on paid sick leave for reasons (1), (2), or (3) will be paid at their regular rate of pay. Employees who use their leave for reasons (4), (5), or (6) will be paid at two-thirds the employee’s regular rate of pay. In no event, however, shall the paid sick leave exceed $511.00 per day and $5,110.00 in the aggregate for reasons (1), (2), or (3), or $200.00 per day and $2,000.00 in the aggregate for reasons (4), (5), or (6).

Full-time employees are entitled to two weeks (80 hours) and part-time employees are entitled to the typical number of hours they work in a typical two-week period.  There are calculations for varying schedules. 

Employers cannot require employees to use their PTO before they begin to use Paid Sick Leave under this section of the Act.  Employers with existing sick leave policies must provide paid sick leave under the Act in addition to the existing leave available.

In additional to these requirements, the Paid Sick Leave provision requires employers to post notices of the Act.  Model Notices will be available next week on Department of Labor website at https://www.dol.gov/general/topics/posters

Family and Medical Leave Act Expansion for Parents of Minor Children

Employers with less than 500 employees, as well as all government employers, must provide up to 12 weeks of paid family and medical leave for employees unable to work (or telework),  limited to employees who are a parent and need for leave work in order to care for their child, if the child’s school or place of care has been closed or if the child care provider is unavailable, due to the coronavirus. While the original version of the bill provided for leave to other caregivers, including grandparents, those provisions were not part of the final bill. 

The first 10 days of the leave may be unpaid under FMLA (Paid Sick Leave under the above provisions or some other paid leave provision under the Employer’s leave policy may be available to cover this period of time). Employees must be permitted to utilize PTO to cover this initial 10-day period. After the initial 10-day period, the employee will be paid not less than two-thirds of the employee’s regular rate of pay based on the number of regular hours the employee worked. In no event, however, shall the paid leave exceed $200.00 per day and $10,000.00 in the aggregate.

Employers are required to reinstate employees, upon return from leave, to their same or similar position unless the following conditions are met:

• The employer has fewer than 25 employees;
• The position held by the employee no longer exists due to economic or other operating conditions that affect employment and are caused by the public health condition;
• The employer attempts to restore the employee to a similar position;
• The attempts to restore to a similar position fail, and the employer contacts the employee if such a position becomes available.

The Act provides for the exclusion of certain health care providers and emergency responders from providing extended FMLA, as well as small businesses with fewer than 50 employees if providing the leave “would jeopardize the viability of the business.”

The FMLA prohibition against retaliation against any employee who takes protected leave under this section remains in place for these new provisions.

Questions

A number of questions or open issues remain regarding employer requirements.  These may be clarified later by the forthcoming regulations.  These questions and include:

• Employee certification or documentation, if any, that an Employer may require for leave to care for a child if a child’s school has been closed or alternative childcare provider is unavailable.
• Whether employers need to revise their current FMLA policies to incorporate these temporary new benefits.
• Whether an Employer’s Short-term Disability Policy can be coordinated with payments required under the expanded FMLA leave.
• Whether employees may qualify for any of these payments due to leave that the employee has taken prior to the presumptive effective date on April 2, 2020.  It is not expected that any retroactive application of these provisions will occur.  Other types of benefits, such as state unemployment benefits, may need to be utilized.
• Whether employees who are laid off before the effective date of the Act are entitled to the expanded FMLA leave pay.

We will issue updates as we are made aware of them.  If you have any questions regarding paid leave or expanded FMLA benefits, or any other question related to employment issues, for you or your business, we are ready to assist. Please contact Matt Stokely or Kristina Curry at Pickrel, Schaeffer, and Ebeling at (937) 223-1130, or via email at mstokely@pselaw.com or kcurry@pselaw.com. 

The post Employment Law Update: Federal Paid Leave Provision to Take Effect on April 2, 2020 appeared first on Pickrel Schaeffer & Ebeling.

On March 18, 2020, Congress passed Families First Coronavirus Response Act (the “Act”) which will provide temporary assistance to employees and businesses experiencing coronavirus interruptions. The Act becomes effective April 2, 2020, which is 15 days after the President signed the bill into law. The bill contains two key provisions for employers and employees.  One is an emergency paid sick leave provision that applies generally to all employers who have fewer than 500 employees.  The other provision is an emergency expansion of the Family Medical Leave Act (“FMLA”) in order to provide up to 80 hours of paid leave to parents who must remain at home to care for a child due to the closing of schools, or non-availability of the child’s caregiver.  The Act provides for employers to seek exemptions depending on the circumstances and the number of employees the employer has.

Here are two of the Act’s key provisions:

Paid Sick Leave

Private employers who have fewer than 500 employees, and all government employers are required to provide full time employees at least 80 hours of paid sick leave. Paid sick leave can be used for the following reasons:

(1) The employee is subject to a Federal, State, or local quarantine or isolation order related to coronavirus;
(2) The employee has been advised by a health care provider to self-quarantine due to concerns related to coronavirus;
(3) The employee is experiencing coronavirus symptoms and seeking a medical diagnosis;
(4) The employee is caring for an individual who is subject to an order as described in reason (1) or has been advised as described in reason (2).
(5) The employee is caring for a son or daughter of such employee if the school or place of care of the son or daughter has been closed, or the childcare provider of such son or daughter is unavailable, due to the coronavirus.
(6) The employee is experiencing any other substantially similar condition specified by the Secretary of Health and Human Services in consultation with the Secretary of the Treasury and the Secretary of Labor.

Employees who go on paid sick leave for reasons (1), (2), or (3) will be paid at their regular rate of pay. Employees who use their leave for reasons (4), (5), or (6) will be paid at two-thirds the employee’s regular rate of pay. In no event, however, shall the paid sick leave exceed $511.00 per day and $5,110.00 in the aggregate for reasons (1), (2), or (3), or $200.00 per day and $2,000.00 in the aggregate for reasons (4), (5), or (6).

Full-time employees are entitled to two weeks (80 hours) and part-time employees are entitled to the typical number of hours they work in a typical two-week period.  There are calculations for varying schedules. 

Employers cannot require employees to use their PTO before they begin to use Paid Sick Leave under this section of the Act.  Employers with existing sick leave policies must provide paid sick leave under the Act in addition to the existing leave available.

In additional to these requirements, the Paid Sick Leave provision requires employers to post notices of the Act.  Model Notices will be available next week on Department of Labor website at https://www.dol.gov/general/topics/posters

Family and Medical Leave Act Expansion for Parents of Minor Children

Employers with less than 500 employees, as well as all government employers, must provide up to 12 weeks of paid family and medical leave for employees unable to work (or telework),  limited to employees who are a parent and need for leave work in order to care for their child, if the child’s school or place of care has been closed or if the child care provider is unavailable, due to the coronavirus. While the original version of the bill provided for leave to other caregivers, including grandparents, those provisions were not part of the final bill. 

The first 10 days of the leave may be unpaid under FMLA (Paid Sick Leave under the above provisions or some other paid leave provision under the Employer’s leave policy may be available to cover this period of time). Employees must be permitted to utilize PTO to cover this initial 10-day period. After the initial 10-day period, the employee will be paid not less than two-thirds of the employee’s regular rate of pay based on the number of regular hours the employee worked. In no event, however, shall the paid leave exceed $200.00 per day and $10,000.00 in the aggregate.

Employers are required to reinstate employees, upon return from leave, to their same or similar position unless the following conditions are met:

• The employer has fewer than 25 employees;
• The position held by the employee no longer exists due to economic or other operating conditions that affect employment and are caused by the public health condition;
• The employer attempts to restore the employee to a similar position;
• The attempts to restore to a similar position fail, and the employer contacts the employee if such a position becomes available.

The Act provides for the exclusion of certain health care providers and emergency responders from providing extended FMLA, as well as small businesses with fewer than 50 employees if providing the leave “would jeopardize the viability of the business.”

The FMLA prohibition against retaliation against any employee who takes protected leave under this section remains in place for these new provisions.

Questions

A number of questions or open issues remain regarding employer requirements.  These may be clarified later by the forthcoming regulations.  These questions and include:

• Employee certification or documentation, if any, that an Employer may require for leave to care for a child if a child’s school has been closed or alternative childcare provider is unavailable.
• Whether employers need to revise their current FMLA policies to incorporate these temporary new benefits.
• Whether an Employer’s Short-term Disability Policy can be coordinated with payments required under the expanded FMLA leave.
• Whether employees may qualify for any of these payments due to leave that the employee has taken prior to the presumptive effective date on April 2, 2020.  It is not expected that any retroactive application of these provisions will occur.  Other types of benefits, such as state unemployment benefits, may need to be utilized.
• Whether employees who are laid off before the effective date of the Act are entitled to the expanded FMLA leave pay.

We will issue updates as we are made aware of them.  If you have any questions regarding paid leave or expanded FMLA benefits, or any other question related to employment issues, for you or your business, we are ready to assist. Please contact Matt Stokely or Kristina Curry at Pickrel, Schaeffer, and Ebeling at (937) 223-1130, or via email at mstokely@pselaw.com or kcurry@pselaw.com. 

The post Employment Law Update: Federal Paid Leave Provision to Take Effect on April 2, 2020 appeared first on Pickrel Schaeffer & Ebeling.

On December 16, 2019, the National Labor Relations Board (“NLRB”), in Apogee Retail LLC d/b/a Unique Thrift Store (“Apogee”), held that employer rules that require employees to maintain confidentiality during workplace investigations of employee misconduct are lawful under the National Labor Relations Act, (“NLRA”).  The Board overruled its holding in Banner Estrella Medical Center (2015), which required a case-by-case determination of whether employers could mandate confidentiality during workplace investigations.  The Banner standard required employers to show specific evidence that witnesses in an investigation required protection, that evidence was in danger of being destroyed, or that testimony was actually in danger of being fabricated.  While the Banner test had sought to protect the rights of employees to discuss the terms and conditions of their employment, the Apogee standard recognizes both the need to protect employees from undue influence during an investigation, as well as the employer’s interest in conducting a fair investigation that leads to the disclosure of all facts and circumstances.  The Board stated, “Confidentiality assurances during an ongoing investigation play a key role in serving both the interests of employers and employees.”

In Apogee, the Board rejected the Banner test as having “abandoned its obligation to balance employee and employer interests” by shifting the burden on the employer to prove that its own interest in a particular investigation outweighed the interests of employees’ interests as it pertained to Section 7 rights.  Instead, the Board in Apogee applied the standards it set forth in Boeing Company (2017). In Boeing, the Board overturned prior rulings holding employer work rules must be analyzed in light of whether a worker would interpret a rule as restricting NLRA Section 7 provisions guaranteeing to workers “the right….to engage in concerted activities for the purpose of collective bargaining or other mutual aid or protection.” Boeing held that work rules that require employees to keep ongoing investigation matters confidential do not interfere with employee’s right to engage in concerted activity when balanced against employer’s compelling business justifications.            

Applying the Boeing analysis, Apogee held employers may lawfully establish work rules that require employees to refrain from discussing matters or revealing information pertaining to any investigation of employee misconduct while the investigation is open and ongoing. 

need for confidentiality during an ongoing investigation. Reason  (1) to ensure the integrity of the investigation, (2) to obtain and preserve evidence while employees’ recollection of relevant events is fresh, (3) to encourage prompt reporting of a range of potential workplace issues—unsafe conditions or practices, bullying, sexual harassment, harassment based on race or religion or national origin, criminal misconduct, and so forth—without employee fear of retaliation, and (4) to protect employees from dissemination of their sensitive personal information. 

The Board concluded that these interests could not be served under Banner, because employers were required to disclose to employees that it could not guarantee confidentiality.  This requirement itself might have been “enough to chill employees into silence.” Furthermore, “without an investigative confidentiality rule, employees would have no defense against pressure—potentially intense pressure, even threats—from other employees to reveal what was asked and said. An investigative confidentiality rule gives employees a plausible defense against such pressure: “Sorry. I can’t talk about it. If I did, I’d get fired!”  In addition to providing employees with a defense against pressure to reveal what they know about an investigation to others, even potentially to the person that the employee has lodged a complaint against, the Board acknowledged that investigations often reveal other sensitive employee information, such as allegations of substance abuse, improper computer and internet usage, allegations of theft, violence, sabotage, or embezzlement. 

Employers should make clear to all employees that it will not only protect the employee’s confidentiality in having made an allegation against another employee but will enforce confidentiality rules throughout an investigation.  This is particularly important during employer investigations of sexual harassment, discrimination complaints and reports of safety violations in the workplace.

If your employee handbook does not reflect these recent changes, or you would like to obtain further information regarding workplace investigations or confidentiality provisions in employee investigations, please contact Kristina Curry at Pickrel, Schaeffer and Ebeling at kcurry@pselaw.com or call (937) 223-1130.  

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The Board set forth the most compelling reasons underlying an employer’s need for confidentiality during an ongoing investigation. Reason  (1) to ensure the integrity of the investigation, (2) to obtain and preserve evidence while employees’ recollection of relevant events is fresh, (3) to encourage prompt reporting of a range of potential workplace issues—unsafe conditions or practices, bullying, sexual harassment, harassment based on race or religion or national origin, criminal misconduct, and so forth—without employee fear of retaliation, and (4) to protect employees from dissemination of their sensitive personal information. 

The Board concluded that these interests could not be served under Banner, because employers were required to disclose to employees that it could not guarantee confidentiality.  This requirement itself might have been “enough to chill employees into silence.” Furthermore, “without an investigative confidentiality rule, employees would have no defense against pressure—potentially intense pressure, even threats—from other employees to reveal what was asked and said. An investigative confidentiality rule gives employees a plausible defense against such pressure: “Sorry. I can’t talk about it. If I did, I’d get fired!”  In addition to providing employees with a defense against pressure to reveal what they know about an investigation to others, even potentially to the person that the employee has lodged a complaint against, the Board acknowledged that investigations often reveal other sensitive employee information, such as allegations of substance abuse, improper computer and internet usage, allegations of theft, violence, sabotage, or embezzlement. 

Employers should make clear to all employees that it will not only protect the employee’s confidentiality in having made an allegation against another employee but will enforce confidentiality rules throughout an investigation.  This is particularly important during employer investigations of sexual harassment, discrimination complaints and reports of safety violations in the workplace.

If your employee handbook does not reflect these recent changes, or you would like to obtain further information regarding workplace investigations or confidentiality provisions in employee investigations, please contact Kristina Curry at Pickrel, Schaeffer and Ebeling at kcurry@pselaw.com or call (937) 223-1130.  

The post Protecting Employer and Employee Confidentiality during Workplace Investigations appeared first on Pickrel Schaeffer & Ebeling.

• raising the “standard salary level” from the currently enforced level of $455 per week to $684 per week (equivalent to $35,568 per year for a full-year worker);
• raising the total annual compensation requirement for “highly compensated employees” from the currently enforced level of $100,000 per year to $107,432 per year;
• allowing employers to use nondiscretionary bonuses and incentive payments (including commissions) paid at least annually to satisfy up to 10% of the standard salary level, in recognition of evolving pay practices; and
• revising the special salary levels for workers in U.S. territories and the motion picture industry.

 
While the FLSA applies to the majority of employees in the United States, it does allow employers to claim exemptions from its requirements for certain employees whose jobs meet specific criteria. The FLSA provides an exemption from both minimum wage and overtime requirements for employees employed as bona fide executive, administrative, professional, and outside sales employees.
 
To qualify for one of these exemptions, employees generally must meet certain tests regarding their job duties and be paid a certain minimum salary. Job titles alone do not determine exempt status, and neither does the receipt of a particular salary. In order for an exemption to apply, an employee’s specific job duties and earnings must meet all of the applicable requirements. It is important to note that simply paying an employee a salary does not relieve an employer of minimum wage and overtime obligations to that employee. Unless they meet the criteria of a specific exemption, employees covered by FLSA protections who are paid a salary are still due overtime if they work more than 40 hours in a week.
 
Employers should begin to prepare for compliance with the new rule and consider the impact that it will make on their businesses.  PS&E anticipates providing further detail and analysis of the new rule in an upcoming issue of the FOCUS.
 
Should you have a question regarding compliance with these new standards for salaried employees or any other questions about wage and hour law, the attorneys at PS&E are here to assist you.  Please contact us at (937)223-1130 or email Matt Stokely (mstokely@pselaw.com) or Kristina Curry (kcurry@pselaw.com) for further information.

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