Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) Overtime Exemption Regulation

Updated as of October 25, 2019

On September 24, 2019, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) released the final rule increasing the salary threshold for white-collar exemptions to the federal overtime pay requirements under the Fair Labor Standards Act to $35,568.  As a result, some staff positions that are currently classified as exempt from overtime will need to be reclassified as nonexempt under the new regulations. Per the FLSA requirements, a position must meet both the salary threshold and the duties test to be considered exempt from overtime eligibility. Employers must be in compliance with the new rule by January 1, 2020.

Human Resources has a project team that is charged with managing this implementation, including communication to impacted departments and employees.

Overview of FLSA Overtime Impact to Murray State University

In May 2016, the Department of Labor revised the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) requiring organizations to review position classifications to determine overtime eligibility. At that time, Human Resources completed a review of exempt-level positions and classified each position according to the FLSA requirements. Based on the final determination some positions were reclassified and became eligible for overtime effective November 12, 2016.

On November 22, 2016, a U.S. district court judge from Texas issued a preliminary injunction postponing the effective date of the overtime rule. Despite the court ruling halting the FLSA changes, Murray State University maintained the course of action that went into effect November 12, 2016. The University continued to closely monitor the issue while awaiting the court’s final decision.

In spring 2017, Murray State University made the decision to set an institutional salary threshold of $30,000 for exempt positions. Per the FLSA requirements, a position must meet both the salary threshold and the duties test to be considered exempt from overtime eligibility. Effective July 1, 2017 positions that met both the institutional threshold and the FLSA duties test were reclassified from non-exempt to exempt. 

On September 24, 2019, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) released the final rule increasing the salary threshold for white-collar exemptions to the federal overtime pay requirements under the Fair Labor Standards Act to $35,568 effective January 1, 2020.

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