UNITED SOUTHERN BANK
UMATILLA, FLORIDA

, visit an ATM, mobile banking or bank online. United Southern Bank is ready to serve you in many different ways. USB has state of the art technology with the power for you to bank anywhere, any time; or you can let our dedicated staff serve you at any of our locations. Business Customers should contact a CSR at any branch for enrollment forms. A bank Trust Department, or stand-alone entity, with a team of employees to help build, manage, and protect your assets when you title them in a Trust. – courts consider us “experts” in the field so we are required by law, per periodic regulatory review, to maintain higher standards than a non-professional trustee. For more information on our Corporate Trustee Services, please visit our United Southern Bank Trust Department in Eustis ***USB does not provide legal or tax advice and, in fact, recommends involvement of your personal legal and tax advisors in the Estate Planning process. For the past several months small business owners and human resource managers have been working to determine how they would comply with the Department of Labor’s (DOL) White Collar Overtime Exemption rule. However, the December 1, 2016 deadline to comply was put on hold by a nationwide injunction from the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Texas. While the DOL believed that the new salary threshold would provide “a fair day’s pay for a long day’s work for millions of hardworking Americans”, business owners and lots of employees affected didn’t see it that way. The Fair Labor Standards Act provides employers with guidelines on which employees are exempt from being paid overtime. Overtime is considered any more than 40 hours in one week and must be paid at a rate of 1.5 times the hourly rate. The most difficult with which to comply - the duties test - provides nebulous determinations for non-manual work performed by executive, administrative and professional employees and states that these employees must have the ability to exercise independent judgement and discretion when making decisions. To be salaried and exempt from overtime pay, an employee must meet all three rules. While the DOL alleged that the new rule provided more protection for employees, not every employee felt the love. Employees who had worked hard to achieve professional salaried status saw the move back to hourly as a demotion. Cherished work flexibility would be lost under the new guidelines as many workers check email and their phones after office hours, work longer hours during critical projects, and travel for work. The case was started as two separate lawsuits, one brought by 21 states (Florida did not join in) and the other by a coalition of business groups and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. It was ultimately won on the merits that the DOL overreached and contravened the intent of Congress with the significant increase in the salary test level that in effect created a salary-only test. So, what happens now? If business owners hadn’t made any changes to comply, they can keep the status quo. If they did, SHRM feels that flip-flopping pay practices may damage morale even more and waiting to see what happens with the suit is the best course. Of course, employers should evaluate each situation. Sources: dol.gov; lowndes-law.com; shrm.com; fortune.com; foxbusiness.com Business Customers should contact a CSR at any branch for enrollment forms. Business Customers should contact a CSR at any branch for enrollment forms. Business Banking Business Customers should contact a CSR at any branch for enrollment forms.