Employers Can Submit Comments through September 25, 2017
The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) has published a request for information (RFI) seeking input on its 2016 final rule which adjusted the salary thresholds for executive, administrative, and professional employees to be exempt from federal minimum wage and overtime pay requirements.
What Was in the 2016 Final Rule?
The 2016 final rule updated the federal minimum wage and overtime pay exemptions for executive, administrative, and professional employees by:
- Raising the salary threshold from $455 a week to $913 per week (or $47,476 annually) for a full-year worker;
- Setting the highly compensated employee total annual compensation level at $134,004 annually;
- Generally allowing employers to use nondiscretionary bonuses, incentives, and commissions to satisfy up to 10% of the new standard salary level; and
- Establishing a mechanism for automatically updating the salary and compensation thresholds every 3 years, beginning in 2020.
Enforcement of the 2016 final rule was halted by a federal judge in December 2016, and remains the subject of litigation.
On What Issues is the DOL Requesting Input?
Among other issues, the DOL is requesting input on whether:
- The $455 per week threshold should be increased based on the rate of inflation.
- Salary thresholds should be set based on state, metropolitan area, or the size of the employer.
- Different salary thresholds should be set for the executive, administrative, and professional employee exemptions.
- Salary thresholds and the highly compensated employee total annual compensation level should be automatically updated on a periodic basis.
For additional information on the RFI, click here.
How Do Employers Submit Comments?
Employers have through September 25, 2017 to submit comments to the DOL regarding its RFI at www.regulations.gov, using the Regulatory Information Number (RIN) 1235-AA20.
