Under the Fair Labor Standards Act, employers must pay overtime to certain employees who work more than 40 hours per week. “White collar” employees are exempt from the rule if they make above a minimum salary threshold, which was $23,000 per year prior to the new rule. Under the new rule, white collar employees are exempt if they earn more than $35,568 per year.
A Key Exemption for Summer Camps
The majority of camps are exempt from overtime and minimum wage requirements. Section 13(a)(3) of the Fair Labor Standards Act creates an exemption for an “organized camp” or “religious or non-profit educational conference center” in one of two situations: “(A) it does not operate for more than seven months in any calendar year” or “(B) during the preceding calendar year, its average receipts for any six months of such year were not more than 33 1/3 per centum of its average receipts for the other six months of such year.” 29 U.S.C. 213(a)(1).
State Law Might Have Stricter Rules
While most summer camps are exempt from overtime requirements under federal law, some states have stricter exemption standards. If state law overtime and minimum wage rules differ from federal law, employers must meet the stricter of the two requirements.