On May 18, 2016, the Department of Labor released the final rule regarding the overtime regulations of FLSA, increasing the standard salary level to $913 per week, or $47,476 annually. These changes were set to take effect on December 1st, 2016. However, prior to this date, a federal court issued an injunction temporarily blocking the update. The Department of Justice, on behalf of the DOL, appealed that preliminary injunction, and repeated extensions ensued. Finally, on August 31, 2017, US District Judge Amos Mazzant officially concluded that the FLSA overtime rule is invalid.
What does this all mean? First, for now, the FLSA standard salary level remains at $455 per week, or $23,660 per year. The general consensus is that these figures are outdated and the DOL has recently completed a “request for information” (RFI) asking for public input to help guide them in creating new rules. Given the slow pace of this process, it may be late in 2018 or even into 2019 before a new rule is announced.