Fair Labor Standards Act FLSA Changes 2024-25 Ohio University

Some landers, such as Philae and proposed changes to the fair labor standards act the Apollo Lunar Module, land entirely by using their fuel supply, however many landers (and landings of spacecraft on Earth) use aerobraking, especially for more distant destinations. This involves the spacecraft using a fuel burn to change its trajectory so it will pass through a planet (or a moon’s) atmosphere. Drag caused by the spacecraft hitting the atmosphere enables it to slow down without using fuel, however this generates very high temperatures and so adds a requirement for a heat shield of some sort. After the Civil Rights Act of 1964 was passed, the Supreme Court upheld the law’s application to the private sector, on the grounds that Congress has the power to regulate commerce between the States. The landmark case Heart of Atlanta Motel v. United States established the law’s constitutionality, but did not settle all the legal questions surrounding it.

Employers will need to be aware of the new overtime pay requirements and ensure that they are complying with the law. Employees will benefit from the expanded overtime pay and new protections against retaliation. The changes to the FLSA in 2025 are designed to ensure that the FLSA continues to meet the needs of the changing workforce. This change is in response to the increasing number of employees who are working long hours without receiving overtime pay.

Labor & Employment Advisory: Department of Labor Issues Final Rule to Amend Overtime Regulations in Two Phases

Title III prohibited state and municipal governments from denying access to public facilities on grounds of race, color, religion, or national origin. There were white business owners who claimed that Congress did not have the constitutional authority to ban segregation in public accommodations. By 1960, black voting had increased by only 3%,14 and Congress passed the Civil Rights Act of 1960, which eliminated certain loopholes left by the 1957 Act.

Changes to FLSA expected to be announced by the Department of Labor in April

As of November 15, 2024, six states (Alaska, California, Colorado, Maine, New York, and Washington) have minimum salary requirements for exemption that already exceed $684 for one or more of the exemptions. Keep in mind that state rules may prohibit employers from using bonuses to satisfy part of the salary requirement. Therefore, to maintain the state exemption in these locations, employers must satisfy the state’s requirement with a salary alone.

As previously communicated, the Office of Human Resources has been closely monitoring the US Department of Labor’s (DOL) proposed changes to the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). A task force of faculty and staff from Florida State University departments was also formed to review the potential impact of the DOL proposed rule and provide feedback on the recommended methodology for implementation to ensure that FSU complies with the law while having the least negative impact on employees. The FLSA requires employers to pay overtime pay to employees who work more than 40 hours in a workweek.

• The department conducted extensive engagement with employers, workers, unions and other stakeholders before issuing its proposed rule in September 2023, and considered more than 33,000 comments in developing its final rule.
• Understanding and planning for the financial implications of the proposed FLSA changes is critical for employers to determine which option is best for them.
• Currently, employees who work more than 40 hours per week are entitled to overtime pay at a rate of 1.5 times their regular hourly wage.
• It also establishes a streamlined process for workers to file wage claims, making it easier for them to recover stolen wages and pursue legal remedies.
• Through collective bargaining, unions negotiate with employers on behalf of their members to secure fair wages, benefits, and working conditions that meet or exceed the minimum standards set by the FLSA.

For the time being, at least, uncertainty prevails and may continue until DOL issues a workable replacement rule, or Congress revises the FLSA’s tip credit provisions to provide clear criteria for when employers may take the tip credit against minimum wage. Although DOL will not enforce the 2024 rule, the DOL has made no formal move to rescind it. The rule remains in effect “for purposes of private litigation” relating to independent contractor status under the FLSA.

Other American crewed spacecraft include the Gemini spacecraft, the Apollo spacecraft including the Apollo Lunar Module, the Skylab space station, the Space Shuttle with undetached European Spacelab and private US Spacehab space stations-modules, and the SpaceX Crew Dragon configuration of their Dragon 2. US company Boeing also developed and flown a spacecraft of their own, the CST-100, commonly referred to as Starliner, but a crewed flight is yet to occur. China developed, but did not fly Shuguang, and is currently using Shenzhou (its first crewed mission was in 2003). Title VII of the Act, codified as Subchapter VI of Chapter 21 of Title 42 of the United States Code, prohibits discrimination by covered employers on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, or national origin (see 42 U.S.C. § 2000e-272). Title VII applies to and covers an employer “who has fifteen (15) or more employees for each working day in each of twenty or more calendar weeks in the current or preceding calendar year” as written in the Definitions section under 42 U.S.C. §2000e(b).

Federal Court Holds DOL’s New Overtime Regulations Invalid

• This means that employers must provide the same benefits to pregnant employees as they provide to other employees, and they cannot fire or demote employees because they are pregnant.
• The orbiters had 4.6 metres (15 ft) wide by 18 metres (59 ft) long payload bays and also were equipped with a 15.2 metres (50 ft) CanadaArm1, an upgraded version of which is used on the International Space Station.
• The FLSA will require employers to provide paid time off (PTO) to all employees, regardless of their position or the size of the company.

Generally, employees who are currently exempt (overtime ineligible) but make less than the new salary threshold based on weekly earnings may be impacted. The final rule impacts a large swath of employees whose salaries fall between the current $35,568 and forthcoming $43,888 and $58,656 thresholds. To comply with the final rule once it becomes effective, employers will need to assess how to handle the classification of employees who currently earn at least $35,568 but less than $43,888 and $58,656. Further, employers will have to determine whether to make these changes in incremental steps by the July 1, 2024 and January 1, 2025 deadlines or all at once. The FLSA will expand its definition of “employee” to include more workers, such as independent contractors and gig workers, who may currently be misclassified as exempt. Compliance with overtime pay regulations is a particular challenge in industries where employees regularly work long hours, such as healthcare, retail, and hospitality.

The memoranda also stated that notice-and-comment proceedings are “unnecessary” if rule repeal is necessary to conform to certain Supreme Court decisions — including Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo, 603 U.S. 369 (2024), which abandoned Chevron deference to federal agency interpretations. The DOL may opt to bypass the formal rulemaking process in some cases, arguing these provisions apply. On July 1, the agency rescinded its policy of engaging in formal notice-and-comment rulemaking when the APA does not require it. As rescission of the dual jobs regulation appears imminent, employers of tipped workers may soon face a regulatory black hole. With no regulation and only the statutory text to guide them, courts that adopted the 80/20 rule may continue to impose it even in the absence of a regulation, although that may be difficult without any regulatory language to support it. After the Fifth Circuit vacated the Biden rule, a number of courts outside the Fifth Circuit have continued to apply the 80/20 rule.

Unions actively advocate for fair labor standards by lobbying policymakers and raising public awareness. They participate in legislative hearings, testify before government bodies, and organize campaigns to strengthen labor laws and protect workers’ rights. Regardless of what business decisions they decide to make, employers should remain mindful that to be classified as exempt, employees still need to pass the duties requirement under both the FLSA and state law and that certain states have different duties tests or require higher salaries than the FLSA. Department of Labor published a final rule Employee or Independent Contractor Classification Under the Fair Labor Standards Act, effective March 11, 2024, revising the Department’s guidance on how to analyze who is an employee or independent contractor under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA).

Spacecraft records

While Sputnik 1 was the first spacecraft to orbit the Earth, other human-made objects had previously reached an altitude of 100 km, which is the height required by the international organization Fédération Aéronautique Internationale to count as a spaceflight. In particular, in the 1940s there were several test launches of the V-2 rocket, some of which reached altitudes well over 100 km. A landmark United States Supreme Court case on religion and business, holding that employers may fire employees who refuse to work on the seventh-day in observation of a biblical sabbath. Section 603 provides that any agency action taken pursuant to section 602 shall be subject to such judicial review as would be available for similar actions by that agency on other grounds. The section also states explicitly that in the latter situation such agency action shall not be deemed committed to unreviewable agency discretion within the meaning of section 10.

In the Ninth Circuit, where the DOL had filed a petition for rehearing, the DOL argued the case was moot as the agency will be rescinding its implementing rule. The plaintiffs in the Tenth Circuit recently dropped their case after the DOL urged the court to dismiss the litigation as moot. Human Resources will continue to work with university leadership and departments to help ensure we fully comply with these new regulations. The FLSA of 2025 further strengthens the rights of workers to engage in collective bargaining.

The FLSA requires employers to pay at least the minimum wage for each hour employees work and overtime at a rate of one and one-half times the regular rate of pay for any hours worked over 40 hours in a workweek. However, employees who are paid a required minimum salary are exempt from the FLSA’s overtime requirements if they also satisfy the “duties test” for one of the “white-collar” exemptions, which include executive, administrative, professional, outside sales, and certain computer-related roles. Many may remember the proposed increase to the exempt salary thresholds from 2016 that was blocked by the courts. In the meantime, employers should evaluate the potential impact of the proposed changes on their organization and be prepared to address the rules if they are finalized. The DOL issued a final rule on April 26, 2024, to increase the minimum salary threshold for application of the Fair Labor Standards Act’s (FLSA’s) “white collar” exemptions. The first of what was to be a two-stage increase took effect on July 1, 2024, adopting a sharp, two-stage increase in the minimum salary floor.

(See Reprieve Extended? DOL to Halt Efforts to Restore 2024 Minimum Salary Rule for Exempt Employees.) The DOL told the appeals court it is reconsidering the rule, indicating that the agency probably will not try to resurrect the rule in its current form. As the federal government eases its regulatory grip, employers must continue to comply with more stringent or otherwise different standards that apply under state and local wage and hour laws. That update, which set the standard salary level test at its current thresholds, has been in effect since January 1, 2020. The second increase by January 1, 2025, however, is almost certain to draw challenges. As was the case for the December 1, 2016 final rule, the second increase to $58,656 may be perceived by courts as too much too soon.

The DOL has the right to appeal of the decision; however, the upcoming change in administration at the DOL adds uncertainty as to whether there will be a legal challenge. It is possible that President-Elect Donald Trump’s transition team may seek to delay any immediate appeal, pending an opportunity to review what the Trump-Vance administration’s decision will be on this issue. If an appeal is filed by the current administration at the DOL, the DOL’s leadership under the new administration could ask for a stay while it seeks to implement new regulations that undo or change the regulations that had been slated to go into effect on January 1. This would be similar to what happened in November 2016, when the DOL’s proposed changes to the overtime rules were invalidated and the new leadership at the DOL under the Trump administration withdrew the appeal and issued a revised rule that later went into effect in 2019.

The Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) has undergone a significant overhaul in 2025, bringing about sweeping changes that profoundly impact the employment landscape. These revisions aim to address the evolving nature of work, ensure equitable compensation, and promote a fairer workplace for all. While the original FLSA, enacted in 1938, laid the foundation for fundamental labor rights, the 2025 amendments mark a transformative milestone in the pursuit of protecting and empowering American workers. Compression is observed when there is a minimal difference in pay between employees regardless of skills, experience or position requirements.

Integration into the Business

He also discontinued President Trump’s exemption for outdoor recreational businesses. Finally, regardless of the fate and timing of the final rule, employers must remain mindful of states with overtime laws that already require higher salary levels to qualify for certain exemptions. Some states increase these exemptions every year, and employers must simultaneously comply with these state exemptions and with whatever federal minimum is implemented. The DOL also proposes dramatically increasing the minimum total annual compensation required to qualify for the highly compensated exemption, from $107,432 annually to $143,988 (of which at least $1,059 per week must be paid on a salary or fee basis). Additionally, the proposed rule includes a mechanism to automatically update the earnings thresholds every three years.

The FLSA of 2025 will have a significant impact on businesses, particularly those with low-wage workers. Businesses will need to adjust their payroll systems and ensure they are in compliance with the new minimum wage and overtime regulations. This means that employers cannot pay employees of one sex less than employees of the other sex for doing the same job, even if the employees are not in the same job title or department.