On September 24, 2019, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL)
published a highly anticipated final rule that updates the salary
thresholds necessary to qualify for overtime exemptions –
often referred to as the "salary level test" –
under the Fair Labor Standards Act (the 2019 Final
Rule).1 This rule will replace the prior final rule
published on May 23, 2016 (the 2016 Final Rule) under the Obama
administration, which was enjoined in 2016 and remains the subject
of an abated appeal pending before the Fifth Circuit Court of
Appeals.
The DOL published the Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM)
underlying the new rule on March 22, 2019. In response, the DOL
received more than 116,000 comments. Based on those comments, the
DOL made several changes that are reflected in the 2019 Final
Rule.
