Overtime Pay – More Louisiana Workers Will Soon Qualify

Every day across the great state of Louisiana hundreds of thousands of hard-working people wake up and go do a job they are not being adequately compensated for doing. While many of these workers from the Port in New Iberia to the factories around Shreveport and the offices of New Orleans, Baton Rouge, and Lafayette can quote you their salary their earning power is quite a bit less.

Hourly workers on the other hand know how much they earn per hour. Those workers know that if they work sixteen hours they will be paid for sixteen hours. But for the salaried employee? They may work that same sixteen hours but only be compensated for eight and no laws are broken.

What Does "Exempt Employee" Mean?

In the world of wages, there are two kinds of employees. There are those employees who are non-exempt and those that are. Exempt refers to their eligibility to be compensated with overtime pay. In many cases, managers and those in leadership positions earn enough in salary that they are exempt from earning overtime. 

Currently, the threshold for "exempt" status is a salary of $35,568.00 annually. If you earn that or more then your employer does not have to pay your time and half or double time when you work over your scheduled forty hours per work week.

More Louisiana Workers Will Qualify to Earn Overtime Pay

It was announced earlier this week that the threshold for exempt status would be raised in July. When that takes effect then the threshold for "exempt status" will rise to an annual salary of $43,888.00.  More increases are coming for the first of the year too. In January of 2025, the "exempt" threshold will rise to $58,656.

Employers will need to begin preparing now because there will be a lot more people eligible to earn overtime in July and even more in January. These changes are expected to affect the paychecks of more than 1 million American workers in July. The status change in January will affect more than 3 million American workers.

Any worker who feels that they are not being compensated fairly or compensated with overtime pay that they have earned may file a complaint with the United States Department of Labor. Their phone number is 1-866-487-9243 or you may file your grievance online.