In 2015, the Federal Department of Labor (“DOL”) announced proposed revisions to the Fair Labor Standards Act’s (“FLSA”) current overtime exemptions. The Final Rule will be published in the Federal Register in July 2016, with an effective date of 60 days later. The DOL’s “salary shift” will be the first major change to federal overtime exemptions since 2004, essentially doubling the current minimum salary requirements for employees to qualify for the executive, administrative, and professional exemptions of the FLSA (the “White-Collar Exemptions”).

Under the proposed revisions, the DOL seeks to update the salary level required to ensure that the FLSA’s intended overtime protections are fully implemented, and to simplify the identification of overtime-eligible employees. These proposed revisions will make White-Collar Exemptions easier for employers and workers to identify, understand, and apply.