There seems to be a steady stream of interim and final rules being promulgated by various agencies of the federal government recently and the Department of Labor joined the parade this week as well. DOL issued a final rule allowing employers to offer those workers with “flexible workweeks” bonuses and/or hazard pay without jeopardizing how such employers calculate overtime for salaried workers who are eligible for overtime under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). The new rule also expressly gives employers permission to make incentive-based payments like bonuses, hazard pay and commissions on top of the fixed weekly salaries those workers get. Under the new rule, DOL declares that such payments “are compatible” with the flexible or fluctuating workweek overtime calculation method and requires employers to include those added payments in the calculation of a worker’s so-called regular rate of pay as required by the FLSA. We would remind you however, that the flexible workweek method is not permitted in a number of states, specifically: Alaska, California, New Mexico and Pennsylvania. This article from the law firm of Seyfarth & Shaw is particularly helpful in explaining how the flexible workweek method works.