For now, the U.S. Department of Labor will stand by an agency opinion letter stating that the value of employees’ stock options should be factored into regular pay rates for the purpose of overtime calculation, drawing increased criticism from employer groups and congressional Republicans.
The recently released Feb. 12, 1999 opinion letter has drawn criticism from employers, who claim the opinion would create an administrative nightmare of excessive and complicated calculations in order to offer stock options to employees covered by the overtime requirements of the Fair Labor Standards Act.
