DOL Final Rule Increases Salary Threshold for Overtime Protections

The Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) requires that employees be paid a minimum wage and overtime pay at the rate of 1.5 times their normal hourly wage when they work more than 40 hours in a workweek. However, many employees in South Florida are “exempt” employees, which means their employer does not have to comply with FLSA protections and those exempt employees are not entitled to a minimum wage or overtime pay. Exempt employees, generally speaking, include executive, administrative, and professional (EAP) employees. In order for an employee to be exempt, they must earn a minimum standard salary level. Currently, that salary threshold to be exempt is $684 per week, or $35,568 annually.

Yet in response to concerns that lower-salary employees who otherwise appear to fit the EAP description may ultimately be required to work an extended number of hours such that they are ultimately treated unfairly in comparison with hourly wage employees who have FLSA protections, the Biden-Harris administration finalized a new rule that will raise the salary threshold. What this means is that more employees will be eligible for the minimum wage and overtime protections of the FLSA. Our Palm Beach Gardens employment law attorneys can tell you more about the new rule and how it may apply to you in your South Florida job.

Details of the Final DOL Rule 

A press release from the US Department of Labor (DOL) explained that the new final rule “expands overtime protections for millions of the nation’s lower-paid salaried workers by increasing the salary threshold required to exempt a salaried bona fide executive, administrative or professional employee from federal overtime pay requirements.” The salary threshold will rise almost immediately on July 1, 2024, and then it will increase again, significantly, on January 1, 2025.

According to Acting Secretary Julie Su, the new final rule “will restore the promise to workers that if you work more than 40 hours in a week, you should be paid more for that time” because, “too often, lower-paid salaried workers are doing the same job as their hourly counterparts but are spending more time away from their families for no additional pay.” As the DOL press release underscores, “that is unacceptable.”

Salary Threshold Increases 

How will the salary threshold increase? It is critical to know the details if you are likely to earn a salary below the threshold such that you will be entitled to overtime pay. The thresholds are:

• Currently: $684 per week, or $35,568 annually;
• Beginning July 1, 2024: $844 per week, or $43,888 annually; and
• Beginning January 1, 2025: $1,128 per week, or $58,656 annually.

The salary threshold will also rise for exempt Highly Compensated Employees (HCEs).

Contact a Palm Beach Gardens Employment Lawyer 

You should be paid fairly for your work, including overtime hours. Whether you are an hourly-wage employee and have questions or concerns about your rights under the FLSA or a salaried worker who is likely to be impacted by the new DOL rule, you should seek advice from an experienced Palm Beach Gardens employment law attorney at Sconzo Law Office. We can answer your questions today and assist you with your case if you have an FLSA overtime claim. Contact us for more information.

Sources:

dol.gov/newsroom/releases/whd/whd20240423-0

dol.gov/agencies/whd/overtime/salary-levels