Impending Implementation Of DOL Final Rule Draws Legal Challenges

The Department of Labor ("DOL") issued its Final Rule on April 23, 2024, increasing the wage thresholds for certain exemptions to minimum wage and overtime requirements under the Fair Labor Standards Act ("FLSA"). As of July 1, the effective date, the minimum weekly salary to qualify for the "white-collar" exemption will increase from $684 per week to $1,128 per week, and the yearly salary threshold to qualify for the "highly compensated employee" exemption will increase from $107,432 to $132,964. More information on the changes employers should anticipate can be found in our prior article, DOL's New Rule Increases Salary Threshold for FLSA Overtime Exemption Eligibility .

In anticipation of the Rule taking effect July 1, two lawsuits challenging it have been filed. Both are pending in the Eastern District of Texas, the Court that blocked a similar DOL rule from going into effect in 2016. Notably, that Court ruled in 2017 that the 2016 DOL rule was impermissible