PROSPECTIVE DATES OF IMPLEMENTATION OF NEW OVERTIME RULES LIMITING WHITE COLLAR EXEMPTIONS

During late November, at a conference at the American Bar Association’s Labor and Employment Law Section, Solicitor of Labor Patricia Smith, stated it was likely that the new white collar eligibility rules will not be issued until late 2016.  One of the reasons for the time frame is that DOL received approximately 270,000 comments about the proposed rules in the comment period that ended in early September.

The time frame of issuance of the final rules suggests that the new requirements may not go into effect until the beginning of calendar year 2017.  The current minimum salary to meet the white collar exemption requirements is now approximately $24,000, and the proposed rules result in an increase to some $50,000.  Obviously, the final rules may ultimately reach some in-between level, but the salary level is expected to be over $40,000.