Wage and Hour Webinar: Final Salary Level Rule Released - Its Implications for Your Company
On Wednesday, May 18, 2016, the U.S. Department of Labor released its Final Rule related to the increase in the salary level that is applicable to exempt employees. Under the current regulations, an employee must be paid at least $23,660 per year in order to qualify as an exempt executive, administrative, or professional employee. Under the Final Rule, employees must now be paid at least $47,476 per year in order to qualify for these exemptions. Additionally, in order to qualify for the highly-compensated employee exemption, employees must now be paid at least $134,004 per year. These amounts will be increased every three years to avoid any erosion due to inflation.
Masuda Funai will review the Final Rule and various planning considerations. With a December 1, 2016, effective date, all employers must evaluate their work force; consider any budgetary changes needed to increase employee salary levels, consider job restructurings in order to avoid overtime premiums, and review their timekeeping polices for newly-classified non-exempt employees.