Today, the U.S. Department of Labor announced a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, (again) proposing a hike to the salary threshold requirement under certain exemptions from the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). In short, the DOL says the change "would make more than a million more American workers eligible for overtime." The proposal seeks to establish a new salary requirement of $679 a week ($35,308 a year). The proposal does not call for automated adjustments to the salary level -- a question that had been hotly contested.
The DOL set the current salary threshold of $455 a week ($23,660 a year) in 2004. More information about the proposed rule is available
here. Once the rule is published in the Federal Register, the public has 60 days to submit comments for consideration by the Agency.
If you have any questions about the DOL's proposal, or other wage and hour questions, please contact a member of the BrownWinick Employment Practice Group.