Bill Wright

The news is everywhere: the DOL has issued its new proposal for the salary threshold for executive, administrative, and professional exemptions. Don’t panic – the announcement concerns a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking. The DOL still has to take public comments and prepare a final set of regulations.

The proposal (this time) is to increase the salary threshold from the current $455 per week (annualized to $23,660) to $679 per week (annualized to $35,308). If the proposal makes it to the final form, executive, administrative and professional employees who make less than $35,308 annually will no longer be “exempt.” Employers would have to pay these lower-paid employees overtime premium pay for hours worked over 40 each week. The proposed rulemaking also includes an increase for the highly compensated employee exemption from $100,000 to $147,414. Instead of proposing that the thresholds would increase automatically, the DOL is now proposing scheduling period reviews of the thresholds.

For anyone who would like to respond to the DOL’s proposals, comments will be accepted electronically or by mail. Check out the instructions at http://www.regulations.gov/.