The U.S. Department of Labor has issued a notice of a proposed rule increasing the salary threshold for the white-collar exemptions from the overtime requirement of the Fair Labor Standards Act from the current minimum of $23,660 to $35,308 a year, a significant increase but less than the $47,476 proposed by the Obama Administration in 2016.
The current salary minimum has been in effect since 2004, and the Obama Administration rule increasing it to $47,476 was barred by a federal court in Texas and then dropped by the Trump Administration. That rule called for automatic increases in the salary threshold, but the new proposal does not, only calling for a periodic review and any change to come via notice-and-comment rule-making.
The proposed rule affects the main white-collar executive, administrative, and professional exemptions. The proposal would also increase the salary threshold for a separate exemption, for highly compensated individuals, from $100,000 to $147,414 a year. For a position to meet any one of the exemptions, it would need to meet a “duties test” in addition to the salary minimum.
The public will have 60 days to comment on the proposal once it is published in the Federal Register, and the proposal would not become law for some time after that. Stay tuned!