OIL CITY, Pa. — The Venango Area Chamber of Commerce and Bridge Builders Community Foundations are partnering to host a lunch seminar on Thursday, September 22, at the Great Room of the National Transit Building in Oil City.

This seminar is to help business and nonprofit leaders better understand and prepare the recent updates to the Fair Labor Standards Act overtime regulations. Frank Gill of Gill Consulting, an experienced consultant in these matters, will have a presentation and a time for Q&A from seminar participants.

What is the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA)?

The FLSA is a federal law which establishes minimum wage, overtime pay eligibility, record keeping, and child labor standards affecting full-time and part-time workers in the private sector and in federal, state, and local governments.

The Act and in particular the “overtime rule” is enforced by the Wage and Hour Division of the Department of Labor. Provisions of the Act allow for specific “exemptions” from the overtime rule, provided the exempt worker meets certain requirements or tests. One of those tests is the salary level or threshold paid by the employer.

In May, the U.S. Department of Labor updated overtime regulations, which will extend to more than four million workers. The new rules may affect the way local businesses pay their employees.

Businesses with salary exempt employees, employees who do not currently receive overtime pay because of their status as a salaried employee, may need to adjust the way they pay these employees. Businesses must be compliant by December 1, 2016.

What is changing?

Effective December 1, 2016, the “rule change” goes into effect raising the salary threshold for exempt workers as follows:

The salary level increases from $455.00/week or $23,660.00/year to $913.00/week or $47,476.00/year, and the salary level will continue to increase every three years thereafter.

How does this affect my organization?

Exempt employees who are paid less than $47,476.00 annually may be eligible for overtime pay for hours worked over 40 in a workweek.

This could mean a big hit to payroll, a financial burden to the organization, and a cultural change in the workforce.

What to do first?

Join Business Consultant Frank Gill as he discusses what employers need to know about the final rule on Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) overtime exemptions released by the Department of Labor (DOL).

Frank Gill, of Gill Consulting, an experienced consultant in these matters, will have a presentation and a time for Q&A from seminar participants.

Topics include:

• When the Final Rule goes into effect, and who will be affected
• Updated overtime exemption thresholds for Executive, Administrative, Professional, and Higher Compensated Employees
• Use of non-discretionary bonuses and incentive payments towards the threshold for Executive, Administrative, and Professional employees
• What the Final Rule has not changed
• Best practices and tips for implementation

Please RSVP to the Venango Area Chamber of Commerce by September 15, 2016, at 814-676-8521 or online at www.venangochamber.org.

Dale Woodard Gent Law Firm, of Franklin, is sponsoring the event.