Salary Threshold Proposed Rulemaking: What Employers Need to Know

The U.S. Department of Labor published its long-awaited proposed rule raising the salary level threshold for exempt employees from $35,568 per year ($684 per week) to $55,068 per year ($1,059 per week). While the rule addresses only one factor of the three-factor test to determine whether an employee is exempt from overtime, salary basis and duties tests being the others, it is the most objective factor. Indeed, the Department of Labor estimates that this increase will make more than 3.5 million employees eligible for overtime.