Yesterday, the DOL’s Wage & Hour Division (WHD) sent its anticipated Request for Information (RFI) on the overtime rule to the Office of Management and Budget’s Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA). Review of the RFI by OIRA is one of the final steps before publication in the Federal Register.

The RFI is expected to ask the regulated community for information regarding the impact of last year’s final rule increasing the salary level for exemption to $913/week. As our readers know, that rule was enjoined and the injunction is now before the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals, with the Department’s reply brief due later this week. The RFI is likely to ask employers that made adjustments to their pay or operations in anticipation of the expected salary increase what the economic consequences of those adjustments have been thus far. Similarly, for employers that did not implement planned changes, the RFI likely will inquire as to what the expected consequences would have been.

Employer responses to the RFI will be critical in assisting WHD in determining next steps in the regulatory process (e.g., withdrawing the final rule, making a new proposal with a different salary level, maintaining the status quo). Be on the lookout for additional information on how to participate.