The Beltway Buzz is a weekly update summarizing labor and
employment news from inside the Beltway and clarifying how
what's happening in Washington, D.C. could impact your
business.
Regular Rate Proposal Issues. On March 29,
2019, the U.S. Department of Labor's (DOL) Wage and Hour
Division (WHD) published a notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) to
clarify what forms of payments must be included (or excluded) for
purposes of calculating workers' overtime pay. According to the
WHD, the clarification is necessary because the current outdated
regulations discourage employers from "offering more perks to
their employees as it may be unclear whether" to include those
perks when calculating an employee's regular rate of pay for
overtime purposes. To help alleviate this confusion, the DOL
proposes to expressly exclude certain costs—such as payments
for unused paid leave—from the regular rate calculation.
Comments are due on May 28, 2019—just one week after comments
are due
