Q. I heard that the United States Department of Labor is planning to raise the salary threshold for exempt status again. What is the new rule and when does my company have to comply?
A. On March 7, the U.S. Department of Labor issued its long-anticipated proposed rule that would expand overtime eligibility under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) to include a significant number of additional workers. The proposal will be open to public comment for 60 days, with the final rule set to take effect around January 1, 2020.
Under current regulations, in effect since 2004, employees with a salary below $455 per week, or $23,660 annually, are nonexempt and must receive overtime pay for hours worked over 40 hours per week, regardless of whether their duties fall within one of the FLSA exemptions. The new rule would raise the salary threshold from $455 to $679 per week, or $35,308 per year, meaning that employees who earn less than those thresholds will be automatically nonexempt and eligible for overtime on the effective date. Employees earning salaries in excess of either threshold may still be nonexempt and eligible for overtime based on their job duties.