The day that has been looming over employers for the past 2 years since President Obama directed the U.S. Department of Labor (“DOL”) to update and modernize the existing Fair Labor Standards Act’s (“FLSA”) white collar exemptions has finally arrived.  Today, the DOL released its final rule revising the regulations governing who is exempt from overtime, along with guidance on its major provisions.  The final rule, Defining and Delimiting the Exemptions for Executive, Administrative, Professional, Outside Sales and Computer Employees, largely reflects what the DOL had proposed in 2015, with some important revisions, including a slightly lower salary threshold level at $47,476.00.  However, that salary floor still sits at more than double the current salary threshold of $23,660.00.

There is no doubt that the final rule will dramatically increase the number of workers who will now qualify for overtime pay, forcing every employer in the country to carefully assess…