A US District Court Judge in Texas has ruled in favor of 21 states to temporarily block the Department of Labor from implementing an increase in the new minimum salary required for exempt status. The new minimum salary increase was expected to go into effect on December 1, 2016. Instead, the court’s injunction means that the salary minimum requirement for administrative, executive and professional exemptions will not increase to $955 per week, but remain at $455 per week. The ruling is not final, as the case has to be litigated.
Are you aware that The Department of Labor (DOL) increased the wage threshold for non-exempt status? Employees who earn $455 per week ($11.38 hourly, $23,660 annually) to $913 per week ($22.83 hourly, $47,476 annually) will soon be considered non-exempt employees beginning December 1, 2016.
For Employees within these ranges effective December 1 of this year will need to be reclassified from exempt to non-exempt. This means that employees within this range must receive overtime at 1.5 times their hourly wage for all hours in excess of 40 hours per week. The last updated salary increase was in 2004. This applies to all employers subject to the Fair Labor Standards Act.
