The New Dawn: What Happens Next In 2020 in the Wage & Hour World

Daylight

I must wait for the sunrise

And I mustn't give in.

When the dawn comes, tonight will be a memory too

And a new day will begin 

— T.S. Eliot, From Memory song in the play “Cats”.

On January 1, 2020, a new day begins. And here is what it brings in the world of wage and hour:

• On January 1, 2020, the salary basis level under Part 541 of the Fair Labor Standards Act (“FLSA”) goes to $35,568. The Trump Administration estimates this increased exemption threshold will result in 1.3 million new workers getting time and one-half overtime pay usually for working in excess of the ordinary 40 hours a week nonexempt work schedule.

• Effective January 1, 2020, the same regulation raises the highly compensated exemption threshold to a total annual compensation requirement of $107,432 per year, of which $684 must be paid weekly on a salary or fee basis. 

• Also effective on January 1, 2020, the Government Contractor Minimum Wage under Executive Order no. 13658 goes to $10.80 an hour.

• Various State minimum wage laws also increase. For example, effective January 1, 2020, California’s minimum wage goes to $13.00 an hour for employers with 26 or more employees, and $12.00 an hour for those with fewer employees.

• The new Federal employee parental leave benefit of 12 paid weeks goes into effect October 1, 2020, in a trade for the new Space Force creation. Look for more pressure to bring a paid family leave requirment to the private sector.

• On December 12, 2019, DOL announced a Final Rule refining the Fair Labor Standards Act regular rate of pay . DOL said its new rule “will allow employers to more easily offer perks and benefits to their employees.” The rule will become effective January 15, 2020.

As to what else the new year brings, look for new final FLSA joint employer rules to be issued soon.  Bloomberg reports they have cleared White House review and could come out  at any moment.