The complexities of federal labor laws were evident during a presentation by officials of the Wage and Hour Division of the Labor Department before the Chamber of Commerce yesterday.
More than 60 private sector representatives including business owners, human resource and finance managers attended the presentation which was held in the Tradewinds Hotel Pavilion.
The focus of the DOL presentation was the new federal overtime rule which goes into effect December 1st.
Essentially the new federal rule requires employers to pay overtime to management level employees who are currently exempt from the overtime rule.
At present the guaranteed salary threshold for management employees who are mot entitled to overtime is $380 a week.
Come December 1st, the salary threshold will be increased to $767 a week.
Terence Trotter, Distirct Director of the Wage and Hour Division Honolulu District and Assistant Director Min Park elaborated on the new rule and discussed some of the common workplace scenarios that are not compliant with the US Fair Labor Standards Act.
The officials also answered questions from chamber members.
Trotter said employers, both the government and private sector, would need to review the best way to be in complaint with the new rule.
Ms. Park explained that new hires who are in training have to be paid the minimum wage for the category of industry in which they are working.
Even if they are not doing any work.
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