On September 25, 2017, the Center submitted comments to the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) on suggestions for the ways that future regulations of overtime pay under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) could affect North Carolina nonprofits.
The Center shared insights that it learned from communications with hundreds of North Carolina nonprofits about the impact of the 2016 overtime rule (which was ultimately invalidated by a federal judge). The Center recommended that DOL:
- Increase the salary threshold to help ensure that nonprofit employees and people served by nonprofits are paid appropriate wages for the hours they work;
- Provide adequate notice of any future changes to overtime rules to allow nonprofits sufficient time to assess the impact of rule changes, implement compliance options, and pay for any new costs required for compliance;
- Treat nonprofits the same as other employers in any future changes to FLSA exemption salary thresholds so that labor regulations don't perpetuate the stigma (or reality) that nonprofits underpay their employees; and
- Seek input from nonprofits about possible changes to regulations or DOL guidance on the duties test to provide better clarity on which nonprofit employees are exempt from FLSA overtime pay requirements.
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