April NPRM to Increase Salary Level for Overtime Pay Exemption

The Department of Labor (DOL) has announced that it plans to issue a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) this April to update the salary level to qualify for the executive, administrative and professional employee exemptions and outside sales employee exemptions to the Fair Labor Standard Act’s overtime pay requirements. 

In 2015, the Obama Administration’s DOL proposed an increase of the threshold of over 100% from $23,660 to $50,440 per year.  After the comment period ended, DOL issued a final rule in 2016 that would have increased the level to $47,476. The rule was stayed and then overturned by a federal court in 2017, however. The Trump Administration DOL reevaluated the rule in light of the litigation and issued a new rule in 2019 that increased the salary threshold starting January 1, 2020, to $35,568 per year. While DOL has not publicly stated the salary threshold increase it is considering for the April NPRM, members of Congress and advocates have recommended the DOL increase the threshold by over 100% to at least to $82,732 by 2026. 

The NFFS Government Affairs Committee is actively tracking the issue and will be prepared to participate in the rulemaking process to defend the interests of non-ferrous foundries.