NT Lakis attorneys have submitted written comments to the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) in response to the agency’s proposal to amend the so-called “white collar” exemption rules under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). The agency’s proposal, when finalized, will replace controversial revisions to the overtime rules that were issued during the Obama Administration and that were ultimately enjoined by a federal court before going into effect.
As was the case with the Obama-era revisions, the current proposal would increase the standard salary level that must be paid for an employer to claim the white collar exemption, in other words, not be required to pay overtime. DOL is now proposing a much smaller increase in that level, however, from $455 to $679 per week, instead of $913 a week as mandated by the Obama rule.
While we do not endorse any increase in the standard salary level, our comments are nevertheless largely supportive of the methodology DOL has chosen to utilize for setting the salary level. We also comment on other issues raised in the proposed rule, including the annual salary for the optional “highly compensated employees” test and the use of nondiscretionary bonuses to count toward the salary level, and offer some recommendations for further refinements.
Members of the Center for Workplace Compliance (CWC) can read more here.