The US Department of Labor (DOL) finalized its proposed rule to increase the salary threshold under which “white collar” exempt staff would be guaranteed time-and-a-half pay when they work more than 40 hours in a given week. Providers should review their exempt salaried staff to identify those who could become newly eligible for overtime.

Effective January 1, 2020, the threshold will rise to $684 per week or $35,568 per year for a full-year worker. The current threshold, which has been in place since 2004, is $455 per week or $23,660 per year.

By way of background, in 2016, the Obama administration finalized a rule that would have doubled this threshold. That rule faced subsequent litigation, during which a judge issued a preliminary injunction and the Trump administration ultimately declined to argue in support of the new threshold. The Trump administration issued a Request For Information to hear from stakeholders before publishing its own threshold.