On May 15, 2026, the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division (DOL) published a technical amendment to update the salary level regulations for the “white-collar” exemptions to overtime requirements under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA).
By way of background, in April 2024, the DOL issued a final rule raising the white-collar exemption salary threshold and increasing the total annual compensation for highly compensated employees. The rule was challenged shortly after it became effective, with opponents arguing the DOL exceeded its statutory authority under the FLSA. In November 2024, a federal district court vacated the DOL’s final rule on a nationwide basis, allowing employers to continue compensating employees in accordance with the regulations that existed prior to April 2024 — specifically, the DOL’s 2019 final rule.
The DOL’s 2026 technical amendment simply accounts for the changes in the law that have already occurred. Stated another way, the DOL’s 2019 final rule has been officially reinstated. This means that to be exempt from overtime requirements under the FLSA’s white-collar exemptions, an employee must be paid on a salary basis of at least $684 per week ($35,568 per year) and meet the duties test. In addition, the effective annual compensation of highly compensated employees is $107,432. These requirements apply to all employers who are subject to the FLSA.
However, employees should keep in mind that several states (including California, Colorado, Maine, New York, Washington, and Alaska) and some local jurisdictions have adopted their own salary thresholds for certain exemptions that exceed the FLSA’s threshold. Employers should confirm the applicable law for the jurisdiction in which they have employees to ensure the applicable salary threshold is satisfied.
The DOL’s technical amendment is published in the Federal Register and available here.
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