DOL Opens Comment Period for Proposed ‘White Collar’ Threshold Change

On September 8, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) published a notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) to increase the minimum salary level for the Fair Labor Standards Act “white collar” exemptions from $684 to $1,059 per week (or from $35,568 per year to $55,068 per year) [88 F.R. 62152, 9-8-23]. The DOL announced it would publish the NPRM on August 30.

In addition to increasing the minimum salary level to $1,059 a week, the proposed rule would do the following:

• Increase the salary requirement for highly compensated employees (HCEs) from $107,432 to $143,988 per year
• Return the salary level in the four U.S. territories subject to the federal minimum wage – Puerto Rico, Guam, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI) – to apply the same standard salary level as the rest of the United States
• Update the special salary levels for American Samoa to $890 per week
• Automatically update the standard salary level and the HCE total annual compensation threshold every three years

Comment Period Open Until November 7

Comments should be submitted in writing on or before November 7, 2023, and should include a reference to RIN 1235-AA39. Comments may be submitted electronically via the Federal eRulemaking Portal or sent to: Division of Regulations, Legislation, and Interpretation, Wage and Hour Division, U.S. Department of Labor, Room S-3502, 200 Constitution Avenue N.W., Washington, DC 20210.

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Jyme Mariani, Esq., is Managing Editor of Payroll Currently and Senior Manager of Payroll Information Resources for PayrollOrg.