The U.S. Department of Labor's announcement Thursday that it is restoring an overtime salary threshold from President Donald Trump's first administration, rather than putting in place a new level, has attorneys wondering when future rulemaking will happen.
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Jason Reisman of Blank Rome LLP, the immediate past president of the Wage and Hour Defense Institute, said a future overtime rule could tackle the duties element potentially by altering the balance between the salary threshold and duties.
"To be exempt, you have to meet not only the salary amount, you have to [also] be paid on a salary basis, and you have to reach the duties," he said. "Do they do something that changes the balance in that, to make one of those things more important than the others?"
In the meantime, employers probably shouldn't reduce salaries they raised to keep employees exempt in 2024, attorneys said.
"Once they've already put salary increases in place, it's really hard to go back to your employees and tell them that, 'Well, it was because of this new rule, and now I'm reducing your salary because I don't have to pay you that much,'" Reisman said.
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"DOL Overtime Rule Update Leaves Attys Waiting for Next Hike," by Max Kutner was published in Law360 Employment Authority on May 14, 2026.