Page 1 Page 2 Page 3 Page 4 Page 5 Page 6 Page 7 Page 8 Page 9 Page 10 Page 11 Page 12 Page 13 Page 14 Page 15 Page 16 Page 17 Page 18 Page 19 Page 20 Page 21 Page 22 Page 23 Page 24 Page 25 Page 26 Page 27 Page 28 Page 29 Page 30 Page 31 Page 32JUNE 2016 • FOGHORN 23 LEGAL Increased sales through our multiple low to no cost marketing plans. Decreased operating cost by eliminating redundancy and automating workflow for better efficiency. Flexible management tools to give you the ultimate control over your sales and operations. DESTINATION MANAGER THE COMPLETE SALES AND MANAGEMENT SYSTEM www.vts-no.com Formally Virtual Ticketer No Risk Free Trial Tim Eversole Director of Sales and Support teversole@vts-no.com Tel: (504) 840-9800 X 113 Toll Free: (877) 265-3521 X 113 Cell: (859) 652-9885 YOUR COMPLETE TICKETING SOLUTION. Michael Brydon Director of Sales and Support mbrydon@vts-no.com Tel: (504) 840-9800 X 101 Toll Free: (877) 265-3521 X 101 Cell: (504) 914-7334 Gordon Stevens, President & CEO, New Orleans Steamboat Company, Gray Line Tours “We have been using the Virtual Ticketer for six years, and have been extremely pleased with the product, software and service. We give this reservation system our very highest recommendation.” ................................................................................................. Hugh Mackenzie, General Manager, hmac@ktic.ca, Kingston 1000 Islands Cruises and Trolley “The advantage with Ticketer is that it’s ‘client’ based. This allows us to provide a customer multiple events, packages or services all under one reservation which has contributed to our success.” ......................................................................................... Rose M. Christian, Treasurer, Native Son Ferry “The Virtual Ticketer has increased our revenues with new sales capabilities and has helped us better manage our company by streamlining our operations.” Increased sales through our multiple low to no cost marketing plans. Decreased operating cost by eliminating redundancy and automating workflow for better efficiency. Flexible management tools to give you the ultimate control over your sales and operations. DESTINATION MANAGER THE COMPLETE SALES AND MANAGEMENT SYSTEM www.vts-no.com Formally Virtual Ticketer No Risk Free Trial Tim Eversole Director of Sales and Support teversole@vts-no.com Tel: (504) 840-9800 X 113 Toll Free: (877) 265-3521 X 113 Cell: (859) 652-9885 YOUR COMPLETE TICKETING SOLUTION. THE VIRTUAL TICKETER more. Thus, the impact of the change falls upon any employee who currently makes between $455/week and $913/ week, and is currently being claimed to be overtime-exempt, as that person will become disqualified for the exemption on December 1, 2016, unless the salary is increased to meet the new exemption qualification threshold. Alternatively, if the salary is not raised, the individual’s pay methodology may be changed to hourly, with overtime paid for weekly hours over forty. if the individual never works more than 40 hours in a week, the applicability of an overtime exemption becomes moot, and the employee may be paid a flat salary at any level, so long as the salary exceeds the applicable minimum wage for the hours worked. The new regulation includes two other additional provisions. First, in satisfying the new $913/week threshold, non-discretionary bonuses and incentive payments such as com- missions, can be used to satisfy up to 10% (i.e., $91.30) of the $913/week salary requirement. As this is a brand new concept to the definition of “salary,” it is too early to say exactly how this will be administered, except that one implication seems clear – that the 10% allowance cannot be from a wholly discretionary program and must be a matter of compensation right based upon some established criteria. It is questionable if this provision will see much use, as the economic result of use is non-existent. Finally, the regulation raises the annual salary threshold from $100,000/ year to $134,004/year for individuals qualifying for the white collar exemp- tions under the so-called “highly com- pensated test” (“HCA”), the test that allows an exemption almost automati- cally as the mere payment at the HCA test level is presumed to be proof of qualifying job functions. n 1 There is also a federal exemption for “Seamen,” that is, individuals on a vessel reporting to the master and primarily involved in the operation of the vessel as a means of transportation. The Seamen Exemption, where recognized (the exemption in not recognized in some states) does not have a wage threshold requirement. About the Author Steven E. Bers, Esq., is Chairman of the Employment Law Department of the law Firm of Whiteford Taylor & Preston., Baltimore/Washington, D.C. He has serves as PVA’s General Counsel, advising passenger vessel owners in matters relating to marine and employment matters, including employment and maritime transactions. He may be contacted at 410.347.8724, or sbers@wtplaw.com.