PROPOSED FLSA REGULATIONS IN JEOPARDY

July 3, 2003

By Horace A. (Topper) Thompson III and Wendy Moore Shelton

The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) is proposing to revise its "white collar" overtime regulations, which determine an employee's eligibility to receive overtime pay. Opponents of these improvements are attempting to defeat it by offering legislation in Congress to prohibit the Labor Department from spending money to continue work on the project. This legislation, if adopted by Congress, will kill the Labor Department proposal and prevent much needed reforms from being implemented. The Labor and Employment Practice Group of Watkins Ludlam Winter & Stennis, P.A. recommends you contact your Representative and ask for support of the Department of Labor's new proposal.

The Labor Department proposal would update overtime regulations that have remained largely unchanged since 1950. The current rules have become difficult to apply to today's service-based jobs, particularly in the restaurant/hospitality industry.

Meanwhile, overtime pay lawsuits continue to explode as employers in many industries are attacked for classifying managerial employees as overtime-exempt employees. Overtime pay lawsuits are time consuming and costly to defend, and such litigation occurs often because of the confusing and outdated overtime regulations. We recommend you encourage your Representative in Congress to oppose the attempt to kill the United States Department of Labor's overtime-exempt clarification project, which would help employers to clearly understand how to classify managerial employees.

Horace A. (Topper) Thompson III and Wendy Moore Shelton are Shareholders in the Firm's Labor and Employment Law Group. Topper may be contacted at 228-864-3094 or you may e-mail him at tthompson@watkinsludlam.com. Wendy may be contacted at 601-949-4856 or you may e-mail her at wshelton@watkinsludlam.com.