SBA Advocacy roundtables on new overtime proposal

The Small Business Administration’s Office of Advocacy this week is hosting roundtable discussions on the Labor Department’s proposal to increase the number of employees who are entitled to overtime compensation. Banks with less than $850 million in assets—which are defined as small businesses by the SBA—are invited to join.

Roundtables: Scheduled for 1 p.m. (Eastern time) tomorrow, Sept. 26, and this Wednesday, Sept. 27, the roundtables will feature a high-level overview of the proposed rulemaking and then provide time for input from interested parties.

Overtime Proposal: The Labor Department’s proposed rulemaking would raise the threshold for exempt salaried employees from $35,568 to $55,068 annually, requiring businesses to extend overtime pay to a greater number of executive, administrative, and professional workers.

Background: The Labor Department in 2019 issued an overtime final rule that was based on its 2004 overtime methodology, as advocated by ICBA. That final rule—which came after a federal judge in 2017 struck down a rule issued in 2016—increased the salary level test from $23,660 to $35,568 per year and the total annual compensation level for "highly compensated employees" from $100,000 to $107,432 per year.

Outlook: ICBA is reviewing the new proposal and will submit comments.