Rule increasing overtime for managers becomes final

The U.S. Department of Labor has published an update to regulations under the Fair Labor Standards Act in which far more employees will be eligible for overtime pay. Under the new rule, workers earning up to $47,476 annually or $913 per week will be eligible for overtime pay, rather than those earning up to $23,660, which was the previous threshold. The rule will go into effect Dec. 1, according to the Department of Labor website. 

A previous proposal, initiated by President Obama in 2014, set the threshold at $50,440. This drew concern earler this year from Rep. Kurt Schrader (D-Oregon), DVM, who worried that paying high levels of overtime wages could hurt veterinary practice owners financially. According to the Veterinary Hospiral Managers Association (VHMA), the average salaried practice manager earns $51,364, and the average salaried office manager earns $37,765. 

"Our practice managers are like family, and they deserve the reward of a good salary," Schrader told dvm360 in April. "But jumping straight to $50,000 is a huge move." 

The VHMA has criticized Schrader's remarks, stating that practice managers are vital to a veterinary hospital's success and as such deserve to be compensated accordingly.