DOL Delays White-Collar Overtime Rule Action | WWC

Along with the home care worker rule, the Department of Labor (DOL) has confirmed that work on a rule redefining the exemptions from overtime pay for professional, executive, administrative, outside sales and computer employees has been delayed until next year. The department's Semiannual Regulatory Agenda had targeted November 2014 as the goal for the redefinition, which would presumably up the ante by raising the salary requirement for overtime exemption from its current base of $455 a week, thus making millions more eligible for overtime pay. Section 13 of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) states that "any employee employed in a bona fide executive, administrative, or professional capacity can be classified as exempt from overtime pay." The current salary requirement of $455 a week to be classified as exempt was set in 2004 with the enactment of the FairPay Overtime Rules. Earlier this year, the Obama administration ordered the DOL to look into the issue and come up with new standards, deeming $455 a week to be too low a threshold. To fully understand the complexities of the FLSA and how they impact your business, please procure a copy of our FLSA Compliance Program.