
On Tuesday, March 15, the U.S.
Department of Labor sent the Final Rule to the White House Office of Management
and Budget (“OMB”) for review, ahead of the expected review and release schedule.
The specific provisions of the Final Rule will not be known until the OMB
review is completed and the Final Rule is published. The OMB review typically
takes between 30 and 60 days. This means that we may see publication of the
Final Rule in April or May of this year, with implementation taking place
sometime thereafter.
In response to the submission of
the Final Rule to OMB, Republican members of the House and Senate introduced
bills, within two days of the OMB submission, to try to stop advancement of the
Final Rule. The proposed legislation would require the Secretary of Labor to
nullify the proposed rule and conduct an economic analysis to determine the
impact of the proposed changes on employers. In addition, the legislation would
prohibit automatic increases in the white collar salary threshold and require
that any future changes to the exempt duties test be subject to notice and
comment.
Because the Final Rule is much
closer to possible implementation, it is more important than ever for employers
to begin planning for how they will address the Final Rule. Options include potential
salary increases for exempt employees or the potential reclassification of
employees as non-exempt from overtime.
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