Recent changes in overtime rules could have a major impact on you if you work in the hotel industry.
One major bone of contention is the salary threshold for exempt employees. While there has always been a gray area in many hotel job titles, the threshold for exempt has been raised to allow more lower wage workers to be eligible for overtime pay. Hotels typically employ large numbers of low paid workers, so any change in pay can significantly affect a hotel's bottom line.
Previously, if you were earning just $8,060 annually, you could be considered exempt if your job responsibilities were defined as exempt. Under the new rules, if you earn less than $23,660 annually, you can be eligible for overtime. If you’re classified as hourly, a blue-collar worker, or as a manual laborer, you will enjoy guaranteed non-exempt status and still be eligible for overtime pay. This applies no matter how much you are being paid.
In New York, for example, hospitality employees must be paid time and one half for any hours worked over their 40-hour workweek. While this is a standard New York work rule, a new addendum eliminates an exception for residential employees of hotels that mandated overtime after 44 hours in a single workweek.
Employees who work more than a 10-hour day are entitled to an extra hour of pay at minimum wage. This applies to all employees working in restaurants and year-round hotels, no matter what their wages. What's more, an extra hour of wages may not be considered as overtime pay, nor can it be offset by a meal credit.
What do you think about these new changes? Let me know in the comments.
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