An updated rule for the Fair Labor Standard’s Acts “white collar” overtime exemptions for executive, administrative, and professional workers is likely coming soon. In mid-January, the United States Department of Labor (“DOL”) submitted its proposed final rule governing these exemptions to the White House Office of Management and Budget for final approval. As we reported previously, the drastic Obama-era updates to the overtime exemptions, which nearly doubled the salary threshold, were struck down by a federal court.
What can we expect in a new rule?
You can certainly expect an increase in the salary threshold. Current DOL Secretary Alexander Acosta testified in his confirmation hearings that the salary threshold should increase but he thought that the Obama-era increase was done in a way that “created a shock to the system.” It is likely that the salary threshold will fall somewhere in the middle of the current threshold, which is $23,600 and the proposed Obama-era threshold, which was $47,476.
When can we expect a new rule?
No release date has been provided. However, the DOL is likely to publish a new rule this year. An appeal of the court’s decision to strike down the Obama-era rule is pending before a federal appellate court. The federal appellate court can overturn the lower court’s decision and reinstate the Obama-era proposed rule if the DOL does not finalize its new rule.