Yesterday, the U.S. Department of Labor’s (“DOL”) Wage and Hour Division announced a proposed rule that would significantly increase the salary threshold to classify employees as exempt from the minimum wage and overtime provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act (“FLSA”). To qualify for most exemptions, the proposed rule would increase the required salary level from $23,660 to $50,440 per year.

The FLSA guarantees minimum wage and overtime pay at a rate of one and one-half times the employee’s regular rate for all hours worked over 40 in a workweek. Individuals employed in a “bona fide executive, administrative, or professional capacity,” as outside salespeople, and certain computer employees are exempt from this requirement. 29 U.S.C. § 213(a)(1), (17). This means that those individuals may be required to work more than 40 hours per week without receiving additional overtime pay.