Advocacy News – July 2, 2024
The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL)’s new rule on the required salary threshold for employees to qualify as exempt from overtime went into effect July 1.
Why it matters: Employers of all sizes and types must comply with the new rule. For an employee to be exempt from being paid overtime (i.e., not eligible) they must:
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Be paid a salary;
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Be paid a salary above a specified threshold (which has jumped from $35,568 per year to $43,888 per year and will jump again Jan. 1); and
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Meet the defined duties of the specific exemption such as executive, administrative, or professional (often referred to as “white collar” exemptions). These exemptions are important because non-exempt employees must be paid time and a half for any time worked past 40 hours a week.
Go deeper: Check out this legal advisory from our friends at the Varnum law firm. They note that, “although the federal district court for the Eastern District of Texas issued an injunction blocking enforcement of the new rule against the State of Texas as an employer June 28, that injunction does not apply to other employers, including private businesses.”