On November 22, 2016, the U.S. Department of Labor’s proposed overtime rule was dealt a significant setback when the United States Eastern District Court of Texas issued a nationwide injunction preventing its implementation. The prevailing opinion became that the new overtime rule would “die on the vine” under a pro-business Trump Administration. On August 31, 2017, the prognosticators were proven correct when the same Texas District Court entered a final order invalidating the Department’s proposed overtime rule. The Department’s proposed rule sought to double the required salary level for white collar overtime exemptions under the Fair Labor Standards Act (“FLSA”) from $23,660.00 to $47,476.46.
It seems the Department of Labor will reinitiate its efforts to revise the salary threshold for white collar exemptions under its FLSA regulations. On July 26, 2017, the Department issued a Request for Information (“RFI”) seeking public comment on several issues that it will use to formulate new proposed rules. Those interested in submitting a response to the RFI must do so here on or before September 25, 2017.