The Department of Labor recently announced some new minimum salaries for exemption from overtime under the Fair Labor Standards Act. Currently, in order to be exempt from overtime you need to meet the duties test and earn at least $23,660 per year ($455 weekly). This salary has been in place since 2004, so it seems like a good time to make a change. Additionally, the definition of highly compensated employees is changing from $100,000 per year to $147,414.
The Obama administration attempted a change in 2016, to $47,476 but it got shot down by a federal judge and the Trump administration didn’t push the issue. Here’s why it’s probably going to go through this time.
No Change in Methodology
This time around the Department of Labor used the same methodology they used in 2014 to determine the new salary levels. Employment attorney Brian Murphy explains:
To keep reading, click here: Why $35,308 and $147,414 Are the New Critical Salaries
The base salary had to raise up in order to complete with the rising minimum wage to $15. Which is not a high level income in areas of high cost but it does differentiate between a salaried employee who is expected to work a 45 hour work week. Yes I know the article touched on how certain fields of work have abused their salaried employees but the same can be said for some salaried employees who have found ways to not work their full required hours. A salaried employee gets the same pay every week unlike hourly employees who may get less. There’s complaints for both sides but minimum base salary had to come up to be fair against minimum wages increase, both of which were long overdue for the increase. The only hazard I see is that the employers will want an increase in productivity and will reduce labor costs by cutting more hourly employees. It is a two-sided coin.