1235-AA39 202410 The Regulatory Plan and the Unified Agenda of Federal Regulatory and Deregulatory Actions 1235 Wage and Hour Division WHD 1200 Department of Labor DOL Defining and Delimiting the Exemptions for Executive, Administrative, Professional, Outside Sales, and Computer Employees

The Department of Labor (Department) proposed to update and revise the regulations issued under the Fair Labor Standards Act implementing the exemptions from minimum wage and overtime pay requirements for executive, administrative, professional, outside sales, and computer employees. Several sections of the proposal were addressed in a final rule published by the Department on April 26, 2024, that updated the standard salary level and the total annual compensation level required for the exemption of highly compensated employees, and added to the regulations an updating mechanism to allow for the timely and efficient updating of all the earnings thresholds. The Department also proposed in sections IV.B.1 and B.2 of the NPRM to apply the updated standard salary level to the four U.S. territories that are subject to the federal minimum wage (Puerto Rico, Guam, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands) and to update the special salary levels for American Samoa and the motion picture industry in relation to the new standard salary level. The Department will address these aspects of its proposal in a future final rule.

]]> Section 3(f)(1) Significant Previously Published in The Unified Agenda Final Rule Stage Yes Private Sector 29 CFR 541 29 U.S.C. 201 et seq. 29 U.S.C. 213 Yes

The primary goals of this rulemaking are to address the standard salary level to the four U.S. territories that are subject to the federal minimum wage (Puerto Rico, Guam, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands), and to update the special salary levels for American Samoa and the motion picture industry in relation to the new standard salary level in the 2024 final rule. The salary levels applied to employees in the five U.S. territories have not changed since 2004.

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Section 13(a)(1) of the FLSA, codified at 29 U.S.C. 213(a)(1), exempts any employee employed in a bona fide executive, administrative, or professional capacity or in the capacity of outside salesman (as such terms are defined and delimited from time to time by regulations of the Secretary, subject to the provisions of the [Administrative Procedure Act.]) The FLSA does not define the terms executive, administrative, professional, or outside salesman. However, Congress explicitly delegated to the Secretary of Labor the power to define and delimit the specific terms of the exemptions through regulations.  Accordingly, the Department issues regulations at 29 CFR part 541 defining the scope of the section 13(a)(1) exemptions.

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The Department proposed to apply the updated standard salary level to the four U.S. territories that are subject to the federal minimum wage (Puerto Rico, Guam, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands) and to update the special salary levels for American Samoa and the motion picture industry in relation to the new standard salary level. The Department considered a range of alternatives before selecting its methods for updating the standard salary level.

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In the NPRM, the Department conducted an analysis of the impact of the proposed salary level changes on the territories, applying reasonable assumptions to the available data to estimate the number of affected workers in the territories. The Department requested comments on its methodology for estimating the impact of the proposed rule on the territories, as well as on additional sources of data. The Department will estimate anticipated costs and benefits related to the special salary levels in the U.S. territories and the motion picture industry in a future final rule.

 

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This action does not affect public health, safety, or the environment.

]]> NPRM 09/08/2023 88 FR 62152 NPRM Comment Period End 11/07/2023 Final Rule 04/26/2024 89 FR 32842 Final Rule Effective 07/01/2024 Analyze Comments on the Special Salary Levels 05/00/2025 YES Businesses Governmental Jurisdictions Organizations Federal Local State Tribal No No Yes No Daniel Navarrete Director, Division of Regulations, Legislation, and Interpretation (DRLI) 1235 Wage and Hour Division WHD 202 693-0406 navarrete.daniel@dol.gov 200 Constitution Avenue NW, Room S-3502, Washington DC 20210