The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) has extended the comment period for two proposed rules – the regular rate rule and the joint-employer rule. The DOL extended the deadline to provide interested parties additional time to submit comments in response to requests for extension from law firms, unions and advocacy organizations, among others.
Proposed Regular Rate Rule
As a reminder, the DOL’s proposal seeks to clarify how employers calculate an employee’s regular rate of pay for the purposes of calculating overtime and what employers can properly exclude from the regular rate of pay.
The comment period, which was set to close on May 28, 2019, has been extended to June 12, 2019.
You can submit comments, identified by Regulatory Information Number (RIN) 1235-AA24, by either:
- Electronic: Submit comments through the Federal eRulemaking Portal; or
- Mail: Address written submissions to:
Division of Regulations, Legislation, and Interpretation, Wage and Hour Division
U.S. Department of Labor
Room S-3502
200 Constitution Ave NW
Washington, DC 20210
Proposed Joint-Employer Rule
The proposed joint-employer rule would revise and clarify the responsibilities of employers and joint employers to employees in joint-employer arrangements.
The deadline for submitting comments has been extended to June 25, 2019 (the previous deadline was June 10, 2019).
You can submit comments, identified by RIN 1235-AA26, by either:
- Electronically: Submit comments through the Federal eRulemaking Portal; or
- Mail: Address written submissions to:
Division of Regulations, Legislation, and Interpretation, Wage and Hour Division
U.S. Department of Labor
Room S-3502
200 Constitution Ave NW
Washington, DC 20210
Don’t Forget the Proposed Overtime Rule!
The DOL has one other proposed rule open for comment right now.
The proposed overtime rule would increase the white-collar exemption salary test from $455 per week ($23,660 annually) to $679 per week ($35,308 annually). The deadline for submitting comments is May 21, 2019.
You can submit comments, identified by RIN 1235-AA20, by either:
- Electronic: Submit comments through the Federal eRulemaking Portal; or
- Mail: Address written submissions to:
Melissa Smith
Director of Division of Regulations, Legislation and Interpretation, Wage and Hour Division
U.S. Department of Labor
Room S-3502
200 Constitution Avenue NW
Washington, DC 20210
So far, the regular rate and joint-employer rules have received relatively little public attention, with 40 and 22 public comments, respectively. In comparison, the overtime rule has received over 57,000 comments at time of publication.
Katie Culliton, Editor, CalChamber
CalChamber members can learn more about several noteworthy actions the federal government is taking this year in Feds Propose Overtime, Clarify FMLA Requirements. Not a member? See what CalChamber can do for you.
