DOL's White Collar Overtime Rule Advances

Despite significant concern from some lawmakers and the business community, the Department of Labor sent its final rule revising white collar overtime exemption regulations to the White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) on Monday. OMB review is the last step in the regulatory process before publication in the Federal Register. The average review period typically lasts four to six weeks, which could mean the final rule will be published this spring, as opposed to around Labor Day, the target date many Hill watchers had assumed.

It is not known at this point whether the final rule will resemble the proposal issued last July. The proposed rule would, among other changes, increase the salary level triggering the Fair Labor Standards Act "white collar" exemptions. Specifically, the minimum salary level for the administrative, executive, and professional exemptions would be set at the 40^th percentile of weekly earnings for full-time employees. By the time the