Not the Final Answer!

September 16, 2024

This will be a topic which we deal with extensively at the conference!   But for the moment, we have the following from SESCO:

Client Alert

FIFTH CIRCUIT HOLDS DOL CAN SET SALARY FLOOR FOR WHITE-COLLAR EXEMPTIONS

 

The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) has statutory authority to impose a salary level requirement to qualify for the Executive, Administrative, and Professional (EAP) exemptions under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit has held.

 

• The Fifth Circuit joins four other circuit courts of appeal that have found the DOL has authority to impose a minimum salary requirement for application of the exemptions.

• The Fifth Circuit’s decision came in a legal challenge to a 2019 DOL rule. The case does not address whether the 2024 final rule further increasing the salary level in two stages is valid.

 

In 2024, DOL issued a final rule raising the minimum salary to $844 effective July 1, 2024, and to $1,128 effective January 1, 2025. Lawsuits seeking to block the January 1, 2025, increase are pending. SESCO will closely monitor the status of the cases and immediately notify clients of the outcome.