Paul Millus Authors, "Overtime Rule Changes on the Fast Track"

On March 15, the U.S. Department of Labor on Tuesday sent its final rule expanding overtime eligibility for millions of workers to the White House's Office of Management and Budget. This is the final step before the rule becomes official in the next few months. The proposed rule would cover nearly 5 million more people and raise the minimum salary threshold required to qualify for the Fair Labor Standards Act's "white collar" exemption to an estimated $50,440 per year.

Under current regulations, employees have to meet certain job duties-related tests and be paid at least $455 per week -- or $23,660 annually -- on a salary basis in order to be exempt from minimum wage and overtime requirements under the FLSA exemption for executive, administrative, professional, outside sales and computer employees. The rule would also raise the overtime eligibility threshold for highly compensated workers from $100,000 to $125,000.