Answer:
In 2016 there was significant discussion of changes coming to overtime rules.
At the time, employees making below $455 a week - $23,660 a year – had to be paid overtime if they worked more than 40 hours a week. The level of salary was set in 2004.
But then, at the last minute, the changes were scrapped – at least for the time being. Employers have been waiting in uncertainty ever since.
In March of this year, the Department of Labor announced they are again taking comment on a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking to update the salary threshold. The proposed changes would raise the salary level to $679 a week, or $35,308 a year.
There is no date yet for when this proposed rule will take effect, or even definitive guarantee that it will take effect, but the subject has been revitalized and employers will need to stay informed on the matter in order to be in compliance with the eventually – albeit still only possible – changes.
When they do take effect, employers will need to make sure they are classifying their employees correctly in order to avoid litigation. Misclassification of employees, along with underpaying properly classified employees will raise plenty of questions for which judges will want answers.