Round up: Employer resources on DOL’s overtime exemption rule 

January 21, 2025

On April 23, 2024, the Department of Labor (DOL) issued a final rule for determining if certain salaried employees are exempt from minimum wage and overtime requirements under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). The rule expanded overtime protections beginning July 1, 2024 — guaranteeing overtime pay for most salaried workers earning less than $844 week or $43,888/year (up from $684/week or $35,568 per year). The amount was scheduled to increase to $1,128/week or $58,656/year on Jan. 1, 2025. The rule also increased the minimum annual salary for highly compensated employees from $107,432 to $132,964, effective July 1, 2024, and to $151,164, beginning Jan. 1, 2025.

Since its issuance, the rule has been challenged in multiple lawsuits, and on Nov. 15, 2024, a Texas federal district court judge vacated and set aside the final rule — holding that it exceeded the DOL’s statutory authority under the FLSA. As a result, the 2025 increases will not go into effect, and the July 2024 increases were revoked — this ruling applies nationwide. The DOL may appeal this decision, but the upcoming Trump administration will likely forgo any appeal and let the decision stand.

For now, the 2019 rules issued by the Trump administration are in effect at the federal level. Some states do have salary thresholds that exceed the FLSA threshold — such as Alaska, California, Colorado, Maine, New York, and Washington.

To provide employers with some background information and context about the white collar overtime exemption rule and the various aspects and issues to consider, this roundup provides links to government information, third-party analyses, news articles and viewpoints. The aggregated content in each section is organized in reverse chronological order and is by no means comprehensive. The content also does not necessarily reflect Mercer’s or the authors’ point of view on the subject.

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