In April, we published a blog post titled “Changes in Overtime Laws are Coming.” Since that time, on May 18^th, 2016, the Department of Labor officially announced the publication of the rule updating overtime regulations. The changes will take place December 1, 2016, giving employers plenty of time to prepare.

In this post, we simply hope to update our previous post with specific information that was not available at the time.

Previously in this blog we showcased Lafayette, Indiana and Indianapolis, Indiana as fast growing hubs for new startup ideas. Another city that may not always come to mind when thinking of a new startup hub, is Lansing, Michigan. Like Lafayette, Lansing hosts a Big Ten school that has recently put a strong emphasis on entrepreneurship, both for its students and the community as a whole. 

Many people may be surprised as to what all qualifies as a “security” under the federal securities laws, and the Indiana Securities Act (ISA). A security is often thought of as a stock or bond, but can also include “promissory notes, investment contracts, and interests in limited liability companies, to name a few,” according to Indiana Secretary of State and the seminal U.S. Supreme Court Case of Howey.

Certain preconceptions of corporations follow the historical belief that corporations exist solely to maximize profits for shareholders. As such, a profit mandate gives those in charge much less of a choice than they might prefer. With the advent of businesses moving to a social awareness business model, this has put constraints on the traditional corporate legal model. So, what if a corporation was able to seek profits while also considering their potential benefit (or detriment) to society? The answer in most states has been the adoption of benefit corporations (“B-Corp”). During the summer of 2015, Indiana passed legislation to join those states allowing the registration of B-Corps. As of the fall of 2015, there are thirty states that have enacted legislation allowing for this particular type of entity.

The Department of Labor is in the process of making significant changes to two exemptions that could significantly impact your company: the white collar overtime exemption and the exemption for highly compensated employees.  The final rule has not been published, but employers should consider making preparations now based on the proposed rule.