Yesterday, the Department of Labor (“DOL”) Wage and Hour Division released a preview copy of a request for information (“RFI”) before issuing revised proposed overtime exemption regulations under the Fair Labor Standards Act (“FLSA”). The RFI is scheduled for publication in the Federal Register today, July 26, 2017, which will start a 60-day public comment period.

According to the DOL’s news release, the RFI solicits feedback on questions related to the salary level test, the duties test, various cost-of-living information, inclusion of non-discretionary bonuses and incentive payments to satisfy a portion of the salary test for highly compensated employees, and automatic updating of the salary level test. Instructions for submitting comments and additional contact information are found in the RFI. A preview copy of the RFI, released by the DOL, is available online here.

The regulations at issue (often referred to as the “white collar” exemptions) apply to workers employed in an executive, administrative, or professional capacity that also meet certain criteria relating to salary basis, salary level, and job duties. The DOL released the RFI in contemplation of revising the final rule released by the DOL during the Obama administration  (“2016 Final Rule”), which attempted to raise the minimum salary required to be exempt from the FLSA’s overtime pay requirements, from $455 per week to $913 per week. The 2016 Federal Rule was enjoined by a federal district judge in Texas in November 2016  and remains in limbo. In fact, in briefing to the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeal recently filed last month, the DOL acknowledged that it intends to undertake steps and further rulemaking to determine what the salary level should be. It is now clear that these steps include the release of the RFI. The RFI states that in light of the pending litigation, the DOL decided to issue the RFI, rather than immediately proceed to a notice of proposed rulemaking (“NRPM”), in order to gather public input and aid in the development of a NRPM. The DOL expressly recognized that it released the RFI to address stakeholder concerns, including concerns that the standard salary level set in the 2016 Final Rule was too high and to address the Rule’s potential adverse impact on low-wage regions and industries.

Some of the specific questions posed in the RFI include but are not limited to the following:

  • Whether updating the prior 2004 salary level for inflation would be an appropriate basis for setting the standard salary level and, if so, what measure of inflation should be used;
  • Whether the regulations should contain multiple standard salary levels and, if so, how they should be set;
  • Whether different standard salary levels should be set for the executive, administrative, and professional exemptions;
  • Whether the standard salary level set in the 2016 Final Rule works effectively with the standard duties test;
  • To what extent employers increased salaries of exempt employee to retain exempt status, or otherwise altered employees’ hours or pay, in anticipation of the 2016 Final Rule’s effective date;
  • Whether small businesses or entities encountered any unique challenges in preparing for the 2016 Final Rule’s effective date;
  • Whether a test for exemption relying solely on duties performed, without regard to the amount of salary paid, would be preferable;
  • Whether the salary level set in the 2016 Final Rule excluded from exemption particular occupations traditionally covered by the exemption; (
  • Whether there should be multiple total compensation levels for the highly compensated employee exemption; and
  • Whether the standard salary level and highly compensated employee total annual compensation level should be automatically updated on a periodic basis.

Although the future of the FLSA overtime regulations is still uncertain, for employers the key takeaway is that, for the time being, nothing has changed. The RFI suggests that changes are on the horizon, but for now, the 2016 Final Rule is still enjoined, and the DOL will not issue any revised rules until after the 60-day public comment period lapses and an NRPM is issued. Until further notice, the minimum salary threshold remains at $23,660 a year ($455 per week), but it is important for employers to continually monitor this ever-changing issue.

For additional information, see the DOL’s July 25, 2017 news release, available here.