The New Overtime Regulations – Is Your Nonprofit Ready?

September 9, 2016

By Melissa Sines, Education & Accreditation Director, Maryland Nonprofits & Standards for Excellence Institute

By now, you’ve heard about the new overtime regulations going into place December 1 and you’ve probably had a chance to think about how this might impact your organization’s budget. (Note: the federal exceptions are not applicable in Maryland; this will affect ALL employers!)

But this issue reaches much deeper into your organization’s culture and structure. Some of the issues you might confront are:

You may be relying on salaried employees to work extra time on a weekly basis, or even just focused around specific events or times of
year
. Now, if they fall below the threshold, they will be considered hourly employees who are due to be paid overtime for this work. Do you have the right policies and procedures in place to help your employees understand when they can and cannot work overtime?
Employees who have been exempt employees for their entire career will suddenly become non-exempt due to their salary. This could feel like a big hit to their personal or career status. How is your leadership talking to employees about this?
Employers may need to adjust job descriptions and job duties to comply with the new ruling. This can affect how employees currently interact and divide their duties. Have you done an audit on your job descriptions yet?
Organizations may have to adopt new timekeeping software to track time for hourly employees that were previously
salaried
employees. Besides the concerns of the extra cost of the technology, it will take

time
to train staff and help them adopt good practices for timekeeping. Have you begun the often long and drawn out process of software selection or made a plan for training staff?
Without experience in this area, you’re not sure what the state does to enforce regulations like these. Can you slip through on luck and a prayer? What will happen if you get caught?

Maryland Nonprofits will be hosting a workshop in two locations – Baltimore,

MD
and Frederick, MD – to help employers understand the technical issues and ALSO to help them dive into the organizational cultural and structural issues that come into play when human beings are asked to change.

Our presenters are well-versed in these issues and have a wealth of experience to share with you. You’ll also have the opportunity to dialogue with your colleagues to share best practices and lessons learned on this topic.

Join us September 13 in Baltimore or October 6th in Frederick!

Our presenters:

Lisa H. Shuster, MBA, SPHR, SHRM-SCP
Senior HR Consultant, HR Strategy Group, LLC

Lisa Shuster has 20 years of experience serving as an HR leader in companies large and small within a number of sectors, including technology, business services, e-commerce, nonprofit, and government contracting. Lisa joined the consulting team at HR Strategy Group, LLC in June 2016. She heads up the practice areas for FLSA and Compensation for our clients.

Prior to consulting, Lisa most recently she served as Vice President of Human Resources and Chief Administrative Officer at a nationally recognized job board. As a result of her focus on culture and employee engagement, Lisa has helped many employers gain recognition as an Employer of Choice/Best Place to Work. Lisa is

a SHRM
Senior Certified Professional (SHRM-SCP) and a Senior Professional in Human Resources (SPHR); she holds a B.S. in Education from Towson University; an M.S. in Human Resources and an MBA, both from the University of Maryland.

Lisa is an active board member of the Frederick County chapter of the Society for Human Resources Management (SHRM), helping to serve and advance the HR profession in Frederick County. She is also an active member of the Frederick County Chamber of Commerce. Lisa and her family live in Frederick, Maryland.

Kim Brown
Director, Human Resources and Talent Strategies, The Annie E. Casey Foundation

With more than 20 years of experience in human resources, Kimberley “Kim” Brown serves as the Foundation’s Director of Human Resources and Talent Strategies. Kim leads the Foundation’s efforts to position human resources as an integral business unit by managing a team of professionals who embrace a collaborative approach

in
serving and meeting the needs of management and staff. The team supports all staff by providing a full complement of services including but not limited to talent acquisition and development, employee relations, coaching and counseling, benefits and wellness programs, professional and management training, compliance advisement and succession planning. The work focuses on achieving Casey’s mission by creating a work environment of objectivity, fairness, inclusion and confidentiality.

Before joining Casey, Kim was the Director of Human Resources for The Washington Home & Community Hospices, a

126 year old
non-profit long-term care and hospice facility in Northwest Washington, DC. She has also served as the Director of Human Resources and Administrator for a national

homecare
agency in the Baltimore/ DC market, as well as the Director of Employment Services for MedStar Washington Hospital Center, a

907 bed
acute care facility. Kim holds a bachelor’s degree in Business Administration and

a M.B.A.
both from the Perdue School of Business at Salisbury University.

Tralene
Putman
Administrator, Employment Standards Service & Wage and Hour at Maryland Department of Labor,

Licensing
and Regulation

Tralene
Putman has over fifteen years of Labor Law experience where she oversees the Maryland Department of Labor Licensing and Regulation, Division of Labor and Industry, Employment Standards Service.

Tralene’s
experience includes enforcement in the areas of wage and hour, wage payment and collection, employment of minors, flexible leave and other employment related laws.