November 23, 2016
ThinkHR.com
Think HR

On November 22, 2016, a federal district court in Texas granted a preliminary injunction that temporarily blocks the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) from implementing and enforcing its recently revised regulations on the white collar exemptions to the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). The regulations, which were released in May and scheduled to go into effect on December 1, would more than double the minimum salary requirement certain executive, administrative, and professional employees must receive in order to be exempt from overtime.

Employers should note that this is only a temporary injunction, not a permanent one. The injunction applies nationwide and simply prevents the regulations from going into effect on December 1. There will be a decision issued at a later date on the actual merits of the case, so changes in the FLSA salary threshold for exemption may be back.

Impact for Employers

For many employers, this is good news for the time being. As a result, employers that have not made the necessary changes to their compensation plans have more time to plan for the changes in the event the regulations are upheld. Employers that have already made changes to their compensation plans will need to determine if they want to continue with the changes, suspend the changes, or roll back those changes pending any legal developments. These decisions should be made in accordance with any applicable state or local laws. Employers should consult their attorneys to determine what course of action is best for them.

For more information visit ThinkHR to monitor developments and keep you informed of any changes.