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The Rule issued by the Labor Department to take effect December 1, 2016, requiring a minimum salary of $47,476 for employees to qualify as exempt under the Fair Labor Standards Act was blocked by a Federal Judge on November 22, 2016. Thus, the changes in the Rule will not take effect.
Even if the Department of Labor appeals this ruling, it is possible that the appeal would be dropped after President-elect Trump takes office in January. Therefore, at this time, we do not know what will happen in the future – whether nothing will happen and there will be no change in the threshold salary, whether a lower threshold will be established, or whether the implementation date will simply be delayed.
What do I do now?
At this time, you are not required to make any changes that would have been necessary to comply with the new Rule. However, if you have already made changes to comply with the Rule, you are not required to rescind those changes. Whether or not you continue with your implementation plan is totally up to you.
However, be advised, that for employees to be exempt, regardless of the implementation of this new Rule, they must meet a duties test to qualify as exempt (for example, as an executive, administrative, or professional employee as currently defined).
If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact Karen Soehnlen McQueen, Michael J. Bogdan, Leslie Iams Kuntz, or Scott M. Zurakowski at Krugliak, Wilkins, Griffiths & Dougherty Co., LPA. 330-497-0700.
NOTE: This general summary of the law should not be used to solve individual problems since slight changes in the fact situation may require a material variance in the applicable legal advice.