Developments with the Department of Labor's Proposed Overtime Regulations: What's Going On?

ISSUE: We all remember that on May 18, 2016, the Department of Labor announced a final rule change to the so-called "white collar" overtime exemptions under the Fair Labor Standards Act. Before the change, employees making less than $23,600 per year did not qualify for those exemptions. Under the new rule, employees making less than $47,476 per year would not qualify. The rule was set to take effect on December 1, 2016. In November 2016, a federal judge in Texas granted a nationwide preliminary injunction blocking the rule from going into effect. That case is now on appeal at the Fifth Circuit. If the injunction is reversed, employers could be liable for the period between the original December 1 effective date, and the date of appellate reversal. However, the new Secretary of Labor, Alex Acosta, indicated during his confirmation hearings that the Department may not pursue the appeal. If that happens, the Texas injunction would remain in effect. The Department could also choose to rescind or change the proposed final rule, but would require an entirely new rulemaking process, including new notice-and-comment periods, drafts, and revisions.

Read more Insight & Impact from May 2017:

• Immigration Document Retention and Storage Requirements
• NLRB Affirms Decision Requiring Employers to Allow Employees to Use Work Email for Union Purposes . . . For Now
• OSHA’s New Walking-Working Surfaces Standard Imposes Significant New Requirements on Employers
• Must Employers Continue To Comply With The Affordable Care Act? Has Anything Changed?

IMPACT: As the legal process plays out, employers should consider the following:

For more information, please contact your local Quarles & Brady attorney or this member of our employee benefits group:

• Otto Immel: (239) 659-5041 / otto.immel@quarles.com