Fair Labor Standards Act Latest Development

Beginning last May, the Human Resources Department has been engaged in conversation and
preparations with campus units, supervisors and employees for the December 1 effective date of the
Department of Labors Fair Labor Standard Act (FLSA) Final Rule governing overtime pay. The changes
outlined in the Final Rule would impact approximately 840 employees, all of whom received notice in
late October of the change to nonexempt status of their positions.
There is a new development in the legal challenge to the Final Rule. The Eastern District Court of Texas
issued yesterday afternoon a preliminary injunction that prevents the implementation of the Final Rule.
The order issued by the court applies nationally and means that the Final Rule will not go into effect
December 1, 2016. It is expected that the Department of Labor will quickly appeal this ruling. However,
it is uncertain when the legal challenges to the Final Rule will be settled allowing employers to
determine a specific plan moving forward.
What this means at present for Colorado State University is the following:
Increases that have been made to employee salaries as of today for FLSA purposes will remain in
effect.
Intended salary increases for FLSA purposes only, with an effective date of December 1 or
currently in process for approval, will be on hold until the legal challenges to the Final Rule are
resolved. If a unit wishes to proceed with a salary increase, please contact the Classification and
Compensation unit of Human Resources at hr_cca@Mail.colostate.edu.
Impacted employees who received notice in October of a change to the exemption status of
their position will remain exempt until further notice and are not required to complete
timesheets nor eligible for overtime pay or compensatory time.
Human Resources will review the classifications that have been completed and determined to
be nonexempt under the proposed Final Rule due to the salary threshold and will communicate
with any impacted employee the appropriate exemption status if a change is required due to
the injunction on the effective date of the Final Rule.
The classification work undertaken by the Classification and Compensation unit in Human
Resources will continue with a focus on the duties tests to ensure the university is ready when
the challenges to the Final Rule are resolved.
Human Resources is appreciative of the partnership and amount of work undertaken by our colleagues
at the university to prepare for the implementation of the Final Rule. The work that has been done
places us in a good position to comply with what may ultimately result and has led to many positive
outcomes regardless of the ultimate conclusion of the Final Rule. Human Resources will communicate
any additional developments.
Our best wishes to everyone for a wonderful holiday break.
Diana Prieto
Executive Director for Human Resources and
Equal Opportunity | Chief Human Resource Officer