Fair Labor Standards Act Listening Sessions

2 years ago

The Department of Labor has been holding listening sessions in May to obtain feedback regarding the possibility of an additional increase to the salary threshold for exemption from the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). This means that depending on what final threshold is decided upon, that more employees in the workforce will be eligible for overtime payments, if they work over forty hours in a week. The current threshold is $684.00 per week or $35,568.00 per year. Therefore, if you have an employee making less than those amounts now, you are required to pay them at a rate of time-and-a-half for those hours over forty.

I attended a recent session for the Southwest Region. Given that these sessions are national, the number of attendees was very small (forty) and only a few people, most supporting increases to the threshold, commented. While the DOL does not yet have a proposed threshold amount and has no timeline, they are planning to publish a draft rule at some point after the listening sessions conclude. While they will provide a comment period after publication of the draft rule, I would encourage you to sign up for one of the sessions, and provide your thoughts and recommendations related to the possibility of changes before draft rules are created. Comments made early in the process can significantly impact proposed regulations.

Southwestern HR Consulting (SWHRC) continues to monitor the regulatory front to ensure our clients are prepared. If you would like to find out more about our compliance services, contact us today.