The Federal Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) is a federal law administered by the Department of Labor (DOL). This law establishes minimum wage, overtime pay eligibility, recordkeeping, and child labor standards affecting full-time and part-time workers in the private sector and in federal, state, and local governments.
FLSA In the News...
On April 23, 2024, the Department of Labor (DOL) issued a final rule amending the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). This Rule expands overtime protections by increasing the salary threshold required in order for an employee to maintain an exemption from overtime pay requirements. Eligibility for exemption is determined by job duties tests and salary. Effective July 1, 2024, the salary threshold to be classified as exempt will increase to $43,888 (up from $35,568). The salary threshold will again increase on Jan. 1, 2025 to $58,656. The final rule also provides for automatic increases to this salary threshold every three years with the next increase in July 2027. Midwestern State University is obligated to comply with these regulations.
On September 24, 2019, the Department of Labor issued a final rule increasing the salary level threshold for a position to hold exempt status up to $35,568 annually. The final rule is to take effect January 01, 2020.
Update - 2017
On August 31, 2017 U.S. District Judge Amos Mazzant officially concluded that the new FLSA overtime rule is invalid. This decision stemmed from a lawsuit brought forth last year. That lawsuit created a nationwide injunction for all employers blocking the Department of Labor (DOL) from implementing the new exemption rule that was intended to take effect on December 1, 2016.
On Tuesday, November 22, 2016, Judge Amos Mazzant of the United States District Court issued a preliminary injunction postponing the effective date of the U.S. Department of Labor overtime rules. The judge issued this injunction in response to a legal challenge brought by a coalition of more than 50 business groups and 21 state attorneys general. This injunction is temporary until the court makes a final ruling.
In 2014, President Obama directed the Department of Labor (DOL) to update and modernize the regulations governing the exemption status of employees from the minimum wage and overtime pay protections of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). On May 18, 2016, the DOL released the new overtime regulations. The Final Rule focused primarily on updating the required salary threshold for employees to hold exempt status. Eligibility for exemption is determined by job duties tests and pay. The job duties test did not change; however, the new rule sets the minimum salary threshold to hold exempt status at $47,476, up from the previous salary threshold of $23,660 per year. The change takes effect on December 1, 2016. Midwestern State University is obliged to comply with these regulations.