NCC Online: Addressing the FLSA Final Overtime Rule in Community Colleges
October 21, 2016
On May 23rd, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) issued the FLSA Final Overtime Rule. Undergirded by decades of existing labor law and regulation, DOL increased the salary an executive, administrative, or professional employee must earn to be exempt from receiving overtime compensation for work beyond 40 hours in a given workweek. Specifically, the Department of labor increased the level for exemption from $23,660 to $913 per week, or the equivalent of $47,476 per year. In addition, DOL initiated a three-year automatic update to the minimum salary level.
These come as welcomed changes for many hard working professionals across our nation’s workforce. And for the many hard working professionals who will be affected by the Final Rule within college and university settings, it’s an important exercise in empathy to consider what the prospect of these changes mean for their livelihoods. But we cannot overlook the distinct fiscal and operational challenges that leaders in higher education now face to ensure compliance and minimize unintended outcomes.
The rapid and significant increase in the salary an employee must be paid for exemption from overtime pay occurs at a time of fiscal burden, if not crisis, for many institutions. And community colleges are no exception. The unanticipated operational overhead associated with the new rule may not be met with adequate funds in budgetary reserves to compensate for new costs in the short term. Leaders may be trying to make sense of existing law and regulation that, for the first time in their existence, now apply to the unique roles that some employees in student affairs hold on campus.
The good news is that we don’t have to do this alone, nor should we. Our partners in human resources, the General Counsel’s office, and other divisions across campus can help us understand the Final Rule and operationalize a set of options to comply while holding an ethic of employee care in trust. And we can come together as a community to express concerns, pose questions, and share ideas. That is why we hope you’ll join us for a live discussion on the FLSA Final Overtime Rule in community colleges. This will be an opportunity to hear from colleagues who have a deep understanding of the Final Rule, existing law and regulation, and the application of these in community colleges.
Our panelists will include:
- Dr. Chemene Crawford, vice president of student services and enrollment management, El Centro College
- Dr. Bill Dial, executive director of human resources, Richland College
- Dr. Andrew Morse, consultant and project director, Keeling and Associates and former NASPA director of policy and research
Registration for this event is now closed. Take a look at NASPA's Online Learning Community for a recording!
