September 24, 2019 (WASHINGTON INSIDER ALERT) - This morning, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) released the final rule increasing the salary threshold for white-collar exemptions to the federal overtime pay requirements under the Fair Labor Standards Act from $23,660 to $35,568. DOL did not make any changes to the duties test.
DOL has reaffirmed its intent to update the salary threshold more regularly but did not include any mechanism to automatically update the threshold.
Employers will need to be in compliance with the new rule by January 1, 2020.
The text of the final rule is currently pending placement on public inspection in the Federal Register. DOL has issued several fact sheets, a Q&A document and other materials on the rule.
A previous version of the overtime rule (which had a much higher threshold) was scheduled to go into effect on December 1, 2016, until an injunction stopping the rule was issued on November 22, 2016. In the months leading up to the implementation date of the previous rule, CUPA-HR surveyed institutions across the country to find out what actions they were taking in preparation for the change. Here's what they said. (See the results of the survey in an infographic.)
Additionally, CUPA-HR's 2019 Professionals in Higher Education Survey provided a snapshot of professional areas most likely to be impacted by changing the salary threshold to $35,308 (an earlier proposed number).
For all the latest on the rule and how it will impact colleges and universities, keep an eye on CUPA-HR's FLSA Overtime web page.