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At the end of July, the Department of Labor officially released their Request for Information for the Fair Labor Standards Act. During August and September, the public will have the opportunity to comment on a variety of issues to define and delimit FLSA exemptions.
Those key issues include the following:
- What method should be used to establish the salary threshold for exemption?
- Should the FLSA establish multiple salary levels to account for factors such as the cost of living in a geographic region, the metropolitan area, and the employer size?
- Does the exemption duties test require changes as well?
- Should the nature of the duties alone or other factors such as salary determine exempt status?
- Should different salary levels apply to each exemption?
- How did preparation for the Obama administration 2016 rule affect companies and their employees?
- Does the 2016 salary level too high that it may “eclipse the role of the duties test in determining exempt status?”
- Should the salary level be automatically updated on a periodic basis (every three years)?
The DOL encourages Employers and HR to give their input on the impact the Obama administration’s 2016 rule may have had on their organizations. The DOL would also like to glean more information on how employers prepared for the 2016 changes (raised salaries, decreased hours, etc). This is an opportunity to give your voice in this federal decision-making process.
The public may submit written comments on the RFI no later than September 25, 2017.
