InsuranceIndustryEmploymentLawAlert.pdfVIP

Insurance Industry Employment Law Alert How Insurance Industry Employers Can Navigate the New White-Collar Overtime Rules: Turning Legal Challenge Into Business Opportunity By Andrew Paley and Louisa J. Johnson As most insurance industry employers are probably aware by now, the Department of Labor has proposed revisions to its regulations that seek to further limit the instances in which certain employees may qualify as exempt from the Fair Labor Standards Act’s overtime pay and minimum wage requirements. The revisions it has proposed to the so-called “white-collar” exemptions (i.e., executive, administrative, and professional exemptions) will impact the American workplace as much as any legal development in the past decade. Employers will need to reexamine, and in many cases change, who they classify as exempt. For most insurance industry employers, the job positions of potential concern will likely include, at a minimum, entry-level insurance adjusters, special investigation unit employees, underwriters, and information technology employees. But to view the proposed changes merely as the time to endure a major legal audit over these positions, and possibly others as well, might be to overlook a broader opportunity. Drawing upon our deep experience counseling and partnering with insurance industry employers, we discuss in this Alert the portions of the proposed rules that are of most relevance to the insurance industry and how legal analysis of the proposed rules might be paired with broader business strategies in an evolving market. What In the Proposal Should The Insurance Industry Pay Special Attention To? As we have detailed in previous Alerts, the DOL’s proposed rules would more than double, from $23,660 ($455 per week) to $50,440 ($970 per week), the minimum salary level required to meet any of the three white-collar exemptions. Moreover, the requirement would be indexed in perpetuity to the 40th percentile of weekly earnings