Aimee Delaney Discusses Wage and Hour Policies to Watch

Hinshaw partner Aimee Delaney discussed several potential updates to wage and hour policies in a Law360 Employment Authority article titled, "Wage And Hour Policies To Watch In 2nd Half Of 2022." The article points to a potential update to the FLSA overtime exemption for executive, administrative, and professional employees, a new hybrid classification for gig workers, and new minimum wage laws.

Regarding the revamp of FLSA overtime exemption rules, Delaney said that employers should carefully review whether any of their workers will no longer be exempt following the potential threshold overhaul. She added that employers will then have to decide whether to increase those workers' wages to keep them exempt, or reclassify them as nonexempt and start paying them overtime, which will "definitely… have a financial cost for employers."

The article notes that states are continuing to focus on whether to give gig workers a new classification that places them between an independent contractor and an employee. Delaney acknowledged  "[t]here has to be some sort of middle ground" between independent contractor and employee, and anticipated more states will consider taking a similar approach to the issue.

As more states and cities pass new minimum wage laws, Delaney said that employers are adapting to the higher rates. "There's been so much activity at the local and state level… that employers won't find this as shocking to the system as they might have a few years ago." She does note, however, that higher wages "might mean less workers" and other "trade-offs."

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"Wage And Hour Policies To Watch In 2nd Half Of 2022" was published by Law360 Employment Authority on July 8, 2022.