The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) is expected to set a new salary threshold soon for the white-collar exemptions to overtime pay under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA).
Under President Obama in 2016, a proposal to increase the current threshold for FLSA exemption from $23,600 to $47,500 was blocked. The current proposal is $35,308 and the Trump administration wants to get this new threshold in place before the next election.
Most likely, the DOL will settle on a threshold amount between $35,000 and $40,000.
Employers should begin now to review all of their exempt level positions earning $40,000 and less and begin planning for the change, which may happen quickly.
Things which you may need to consider are increasing the salary to above the threshold or ensuring you budget any possible overtime pay for hours worked over 40.
Of course, the salary threshold is only one item in a list of requirements needed to ensure a job is truly exempt from overtime pay. Make sure you have detailed job descriptions as one of the key elements in passing the exemption test is the latitude in making decisions.