The DOL's request for public comments concerning the FLSA's overtime exemptions regulations suggests there could be significant changes ahead on those regulations.
On July 25, the US Department of Labor (DOL) posted a "request for information" on potential revisions to the Fair Labor Standard Act's (FLSA's) overtime exemptions. The DOL indicated that this request would precede and inform a subsequent formal request for public comment on proposed rulemaking. Specifically, the request seeks feedback on a variety of issues related to not only the specific 2016 revisions to the FLSA overtime exemption regulations but also to potentially more expansive changes to the regulations. For example, the DOL is seeking comments on how the appropriate salary level for the overtime exemptions should be determined, and whether salary levels should be different for different exemptions or based on various factors such as size of employer or region of employment. The DOL is also seeking comments on whether separate salary or duties tests are needed or if one or the other could be sufficient to determine exemption status. The DOL also seeks information regarding the extent to which employers actually increased salaries of employees or reclassified employees in response to the 2016 regulations, presumably so that the DOL can evaluate the financial impact the regulation changes have already had on businesses. These questions indicate that the DOL continues to reconsider much of the DOL's agenda under former US President Barack Obama, especially considering its recent withdrawal of the prior administration's administrative interpretations concerning joint employment and contractor misclassification.
The request for information will be formally published on July 26, 2017, and the deadline to submit comments will be 60 days from that date (September 24, 2017).
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