Update On Recent And Anticipated Federal Regulatory Developments

Federal white collar exemptions: According to the Department of Labor's ("DOL") most recent Semiannual Regulatory Agenda, proposed rules revising the regulations implementing the federal Fair Labor Standards Act ("FLSA") are expected this month. In March 2014, President Obama instructed the Secretary of Labor to modernize and streamline existing overtime regulations for the so-called white collar—executive, administrative, and professional—exemptions. The regulations have been revised only twice in the past 40 years, most recently in 2004 to increase the salary threshold to $455 per week ($23,660 annualized) and remove a minimum timing requirement associated with exempt duties. Two key changes are widely anticipated: (1) an increase in the salary requirement to about $40,000 annually and (2) a shift in focus to the amount of time spent on exempt duties (and away from the position's primary duty). For California employees, particularly those in the high-tech sector, it