In 2015, Independent Sector joined 146 other nonprofit organizations to submit comments to the United States Department of Labor asking for substantial revisions to proposed regulations for overtime pay related to Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). While IS believes that employees should be paid a living wage and similarly supports an increase in the salary threshold for eligibility to receive overtime compensation, there were many concerns that IS and others in the nonprofit sector had regarding the rule. As expressed in the submitted comments, IS is troubled by the agency’s lack of engagement with nonprofit organizations in developing its proposed new overtime rule, and urged four specific revisions to the plan before it is implemented:

• Moving to a phased-in implementation;
• Revising the terms of federal grants and contracts with nonprofit organizations;
• Allowing for regional market differences to the proposed salary threshold; and
• Implementing an open process for any changes to the duties tests.