“Pay tends to be a little bit lower than in the for-profit sector, so there are more employees who are below the new salary threshold,” explains David Heinen, vice president for public policy and advocacy at the North Carolina Center for Nonprofits. In addition, he continues, “The average wages in the nonprofit sector here are lower than in the Northeast. The median nonprofit salary is below the new salary threshold in 95 of the state’s 100 counties.”

On Dec. 1, the threshold for exemption from overtime pay will more than double from the current $23,660. Many nonprofits, notes Heinen, “are already operating on a very tight budget,” and most aren’t in a position to raise salaries enough to retain the exemption. Unlike businesses, he points out, “A nonprofit can’t just raise its prices to bring in more revenue.”