Reference no: EM131676559

What major changes will go in effect on December 1, 2016, regarding overtime rules for the "white collar exemptions" under the FLSA?

Response: The Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) applies to all employers whose annual sales total $500,000 or more or who engage in interstate commerce. In short, the law applies to almost all workplaces.

The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) has issued changes in the last year that went in to effect on December 1, 2016, regarding the eligibility rules for overtime under the FSLA. These changes proposed to change the salary-level threshold for the “white-collar” exemptions for executive, administrative, professional, computer, or outside sales employees from $23,660 per year to $50,440 per year. Employees who satisfy certain job duty tests related to their classification as an executive, administrative, professional, computer, or outside sales employee and whose weekly pay is above $970 will be exempt from the FLSA requirements to pay overtime for hours of work exceeding 40 hours per workweek.

This salary threshold has not been updated in over ten years now. The DOL estimates that estimates that this rule change would mean that 4.6 million workers who were previously exempt from overtime would become eligible for overtime pay.

Question Why was the FSLA originally established? Do you think your employer is covered under the FSLA?