(a) If an employer wants to use an established basic rate other than
one of those authorized under Sec. 548.3, he must obtain specific prior
approval from the Administrator. For example, if an employer wishes to
compute overtime compensation for piece workers for each workweek in a
4-week period at established basic rates which are the straight-time
average hourly earnings for each employee for the immediately preceding
4-week period, he should apply to the Administrator for authorization.
The application for approval of such a basic rate should be addressed to
the Administrator of the Wage and Hour Division, U.S. Department of
Labor, Washington, DC 20210. No particular form of application is
required but the minimum necessary information outlined in Sec. 548.4
should be included. The application may be made by an employer or a
group of employers. If any of the employees covered by the application
is represented by a collective bargaining agent, a joint application of
the employer and the bargaining agent should be filed. It is not
necessary to file separate applications for each employee. One
application will cover as many employees as will be paid at the proposed
basic rate or rates.
(b) Prior approval of the Administrator is also required if the
employer desires to use a basic rate or basic rates which come within
the scope of a combination of two or more of the paragraphs in
Sec. 548.3 unless the basic rate or rates sought to be adopted meet the
requirements of a single paragraph in Sec. 548.3. For instance, an
employee may receive free lunches, the cost of which, by agreement or
understanding, is not to be included in the rate used to compute
overtime compensation.17 In addition, the employee may
receive an attendance bonus which, by agreement or understanding, is to
be excluded from the rate used to compute overtime compensation.18
Since these exclusions involve two paragraphs of Sec. 548.3, prior
approval of the Administrator would be necessary unless the exclusion of
the cost of the free lunches together with the attendance bonus do not
affect the employee's overtime compensation by more than 50 cents a week
on the average, in which case the employer and the employee may treat
the situation as one falling within a single paragraph, Sec. 548.3(e).
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17 See Sec. 548.304.
18 See Sec. 548.305.
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(Sec. 1, 52 Stat. 1060, as amended, 29 U.S.C. 201, et seq.)
[20 FR 5682, Aug. 6, 1955, as amended at 21 FR 338, Jan. 18, 1956; 32 FR
3294, Feb. 25, 1967]
