Regs to Watch: DOL Final Overtime Rule Nears; EEOC’s New Workplace Harassment Guidelines

Two long-anticipated proposals, changes to the overtime regulations and an update of EEOC harassment guidance, were sent to OMB this week, the last stop in the regulatory process. 

• Overtime update: The update to FLSA overtime regulations will impact salary thresholds and define eligibility for overtime pay. The Association submitted comments in opposition to DOL’s proposed rule last year. 
  
  
• Harassment update: An initial draft of the guidance, published in 2017, was never completed by the Trump administration but is now poised for finalization. The EEOC is updating its existing harassment guidance, in place since the 1990s, to incorporate contemporary issues such as the #MeToo movement, a Supreme Court decision on sexual orientation and gender identity discrimination, and the impact of remote work, teleconferencing and social media. While the EEOC action is guidance, and not regulation, its views could be persuasive in the courts in any workplace litigation.
  
  
• What’s next: Final review can take weeks, but there is time pressure for the Administration to complete both proposals before the November election.