... CONTINUED FROM PAGE 10
The amounts will again increase on January 1 , 2027 and then every three years thereafter to better reflect salary levels .
Practically speaking this means if your employees make under the minimum salary levels dictated by the DOL and they work over 40 hours , you must pay them overtime at a rate of at least 1.5 times their regular hourly rate .
As you are determining whether your employees are exempt from overtime , please keep in mind that all three above criteria must be met . The employee must be salaried ( paid a set amount ), paid a minimum salary , and perform EAP duties .
When looking at the third qualifier , it ’ s important to know how the DOL defines the terms executive , administrative , and professional . While we refer this to as the EAP category , it also includes outside sales employees and certain computer employees . Hence , it is frequently referred to as the white-collar exemption since that term is more encompassing .
EXECUTIVE EXEMPTION
In order to fall under the Executive exemption , all of the following tests must be met :
1 . Salary must meet or exceed the minimum levels outlined above ;
2 . Employee ’ s primary duties are managing the agency or managing a normally recognized department or subdivision of the agency ;
3 . The employee normally and regularly supervises at least two other full-time individuals ( or their part-time equivalents ); and
4 . The employee has the authority to hire or terminate employees , or the employees suggestions as to who should be hired and / or terminated is given particular weight by the person who does the actual hiring and termination .
For instance , if your agency has a Commercial Lines Manager that oversees your commercial CSRs ( at least two of them that work full-time ), makes at least $ 43,888 as of July 1 , 2024 , the CL manager directs the work of those CSRs , and the CL manager can hire or terminate those CSRs , then your CL Manager would fall under the Executive exemption . Job title alone does not matter when determining whether an employee falls under one of the white-collar exemption categories . For detailed information regarding the Executive exemption , you can visit https :// www . dol . gov / agencies / whd / fact-sheets / 17bovertime-executive
ADMINISTRATIVE EXEMPTION
Next is the Administrative exemption . In order to fall under this exemption , all of the following tests must be met :
1 . Salary must meet or exceed the minimum levels outlined above ;
2 . The employee ’ s primary responsibility is performing office work directly related to the management or general business operations of the agency or the agency ’ s clients ; and
3 . The employee ’ s primary responsibility includes the exercise of discretion and independent judgment with respect to matters of significance .
One of the most common questions we receive is whether CSRs fall under the administrative exemption of the FLSA . The answer to that question is the one you probably hear most often from the attorneys you , and that answer is “ it depends .” I ’ m certainly not willing to give you a concrete answer and much to your disappointment , I ’ d recommend you reach out to a qualified human resources professional or an employment law attorney . Again , job title alone is not a criteria for whether an employee falls under one of the exemptions . Be prepared with a copy of the CSRs job description as well as a full understanding of what your CSRs actually do on a daily basis .
Do your CSRs work directly with clients to design a portfolio of insurance policies to address their
14 KANSAS INSURANCE AGENT & BROKER