US DOL opposes exempt employee thresholds

US Department of Labor

Here we go again. Few issues have twitter-pated the credit union industry in recent years as much as the Obama Administration’s proposal to raise the salary threshold required to classify an employee as exempt. The regulations never took effect and are currently subject to an induction issued by a Federal District Court in Texas.

Late last week, the DOL issued a new notice of proposed rulemaking for exempt employee classification. Under the proposal, salary levels as a matter of federal law would increase from $455 to $679 per week. Keep in mind however that salary is just one element which must be satisfied to classify an employee as exempt. New York has its own thresholds for classifying employees as exempt as a matter of state law. In addition, those vary by region.

When the Obama Administration came out with its proposal, it forced many credit unions to reexamine how they had been classifying employees. I’m assuming that many of you won’t find this new round of regulations as challenging but you probably should sit down and take a look at what impact the proposal could have on your workforce.

 

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