11/18/2024

DOL’s New Exempt Salary Threshold Struck Down

This impacted the FLSA's planned executive, administrative and professional exemption

Employers have been waiting with bated breath on the challenges to the DOL’s newest salary increase for exempt employees scheduled to take effect on January 1, 2025. On Nov. 15, 2024, U.S. District Court Judge Sean Jordan for the Eastern District of Texas granted summary judgement in Texas v. Dept. of Labor striking down the DOL’s April 2024 rule.

As a brief recap, in late April 2024, the DOL proposed two increases to the minimum salary threshold for the Federal Labor Standards Act's (FLSA) executive, administrative and professional exemptions (known as the White Collar Exemptions). At the time of the new rule, the salary threshold was set at $684 per week, or $35,568 per year. The rule made the first increase starting July 1, 2024, of $844 per week ($43,888 annually); the second increase starting on Jan. 1, 2025, of $1,128 per week ($58,656 annually).

While there were several challenges before the July 1, 2024 increase, three courts that had challenges before them did not issue injunctive relief to prevent that increase from going into effect.

Please select this link to read the complete article from National Law Review.