The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) on Sept. 24, 2019, announced a final rule raising the annual minimum salary requirements for the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) overtime exemptions for executive, administrative, and professional employees. The final rule, effective Jan. 1, 2020, will significantly impact businesses. Experts predict the rule could result in the reclassification of as many as 1.3 million currently exempt employees as non-exempt.
Under the final rule, the salary level for these “white collar” exemptions will increase from $23,660 per year ($455 per week) to $35,568 per year ($684 per week). In this respect, the final rule increases the salary level a few dollars per week more than the original rule proposed on March 7, 2019.