The new salary minimum for employees to be considered exempt under the White Collar exemptions becomes effective in just 7 business days. Companies that haven’t already taken steps to confirm compliance and plan for this change need to act quickly to meet this deadline. While litigation seeking to stop the regulations is still pending, it is likely that the regs will go into effect as scheduled on December 1st.
As we’ve previously reported, the new regulations more than double the salary minimum for the Executive, Professional and Administrative exemptions from $455/week ($23,660/year) to $913/week ($47,476/year). The new regulations also increase the minimum salary for the Highly Compensated Employee exemption (though employers should keep in mind that some state minimum wage laws, including Illinois’, don’t adopt the Highly Compensated Employee exemption).
Employers need to act now to confirm that all employees who are classified as exempt under the White Collar exemptions are paid at least the new salary minimum. Likewise, to the extent that the new regulations have led you to reassess other employees’ exempt status, it is important to act before they become effective.
We would be happy to answer any questions you might have regarding how employees are classified, the logistics of converting employees to non-exempt status and recording their time, and other related issues.
The Employment Lawyers 