By Michael S. Moore
Next month promises the beginning of substantial changes in overtime compliance. The United States Department of Labor has stated that it will propose a new salary threshold for white-collar exemptions. Most experts expect those proposals sometime in March.
These new proposed rules follow a lengthy history in the last four years. The Obama administration issued new salary threshold rules, but those were successfully challenged in court. The current salary threshold amounts have not kept pace with the historical rise in wage rates. The salary threshold is currently a $455 per week, an amount well below what many non-exempt workers already make.
The proposals are expected to include other features such as possible indexing for future increases and changes to the level required for a highly compensated employee exemption. There also could be modifications to the amount of exempt duties necessary for a white collar employee to be considered exempt.
The proposed rules will be subject to a lengthy comment and decision process before they are finally put in place.
The information is written by Attorney Michael S. Moore who is a partner in the firm’s Labor and Employment Practice Group. His emphasis is on employment discrimination defense. He specializes in litigation of discrimination cases, wage-hour matters, sexual harassment, wrongful discharge, FMLA and employee and supervisor training.
This is not a substitute for legal advice and should be considered for general guidance only. For more information or if you have further questions, please contact one of our Labor and Employment Attorneys.