On May 18, 2016, the U.S. Labor Department announced overtime final regulations that, when they go into effect on December 1, 2016, will mean that many employees earning less than $913 per week ($47,500 annually) will be entitled to overtime compensation.

In this interview, Christine Searles discusses how her museum is preparing for the new overtime laws. Christine Searles has been the Human Resources Manager at the Buffalo Bill Center of the West in Cody Wyoming for close to 10 years. She possesses a SHRM-SCP (professional certification for HR professionals) and 35 years of human resources management experience, mostly in Fortune 500 or mid-sized companies. Christine also holds a Masters in Human Resource Development from George Washingon University.

How big is your institution?

We have 85 full time, 25 part time and 140 seasonal employees.

How has your institution responded to the new overtime standards?

About 25% of our full time employees are being impacted. These individuals have exempt duties but their salaries are below the new salary test.  Most of these employees are moving to non-exempt status. This will impact how we schedule events and routine tasks in many departments.

Do you have any advice for other museums as they prepare for the new standards?

We have all employees – exempt and non-exempt – report their hours each day in timekeeping software.  This gives us much more accurate information about how much time different events, tasks and activities require.

Interested in learning more about what the new FLSA overtime rules mean for museums? Take a look at our Overtime Regulation Resources page.