Today, the Department of Labor announced a proposed rule that would extend overtime pay to an additional 5 million Americans.  Currently, those executive, administrative, professional, outsides sales, and computer employees who make above $23,660 annually are exempt from the minimum wage and overtime requirements under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). Under the proposed regulation, the salary threshold for white collar exempt employees’ pay would more than double to $50,440, or 40th percentile of weekly earnings for full-time salaried employees in 2016. The regulations also seek to increase the total annual compensation requirement needed to exempt highly compensated employees to the annualized value of the 90th percentile of weekly earnings of full-time salaried workers, or $122,148. Finally, the rules propose to establish a mechanism for automatically updating the salary and compensation levels going forward. The department is also requesting comments on the proposed duties tests and the possibility of including nondiscretionary bonuses to satisfy a portion of the standard salary requirement, but has not yet proposed language on this issue. The proposed rules are the result of a Presidential Memorandum sign on March 13, 2014 by President Obama directing the Department of Labor to update the regulations defining which white collar workers are protected by the FLSA’s minimum wage and overtime standards. 79 FR 18737 (Apr. 3, 2014). For a complete copy of the proposed rules, visit http://www.dol.gov/whd/overtime/NPRM2015/OT-NPRM.pdf.