As many of you know, last year President Obama directed the Departnment of Labor to issue new regulations to “modernize and streamline” the white collar exemptions to the minimum wage and overtime requirements under the Fair Labor Standards Act.  (Keep in mind that under federal rulemaking procedures, the DOL will first issue a “Notice of Proposed Rulemaking” and allow a period of public comment before issuing a final rule.)  We have been waiting for the proposed rule so that we can see what changes the DOL has in mind for these key provisions of the FLSA, which are expected to revise the current regulations for the executive, administrative, and professional exemptions.

Initially, the DOL said the proposed rules would be issued last Fall, but the DOL later announced the notice would be delayed.  Currently, the DOL’s expected release date is sometime in February 2015, according to a notice from the Office of Management and Budget.  Like you, we will be watching closely for these highly anticipated rules which (if finalized) are likely to significantly impact workers and businesses.