An ongoing lawsuit in federal district court is challenging whether the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) can apply a salary requirement for workers who are exempt from overtime. The DOL defended its use of the salary test in recent court filings.
The lawsuit "seeks to invalidate the minimum salary threshold requirement of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) white-collar exemption regulations," said James Coleman, an attorney with Constangy, Brooks, Smith & Prophete in Fairfax, Va. "While there would no doubt be appeals, and likely requests to stay any ruling pending appellate review, the implications for employers are enormous. If the court were to invalidate the minimum salary requirement, it would mean that exempt status under the FLSA white-collar exemptions could be determined without regard to how and at what level the employee is paid."
The case could be "far-reaching in its impact," said Angella Myers, an attorney with Kaufman Dolowich Voluck in Dallas. "It will be a hotly contested issue."
Background
For workers who are nonexempt, employers must pay 1.5 times the hourly rate for any hours worked above 40 hours in a week. Employees are exempt from overtime if they earn at least $35,568 per year on a salary basis (or at least $684 per week) and perform executive, administrative or professional work. The DOL is expected to release proposed changes to the overtime rule in May.
In August 2022, Robert Mayfield of Austin, Texas, sued the DOL, claiming it overstepped...
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