The U.S. Department of Labor has issued a final rule restoring the federal overtime salary threshold to $684 per week, according to a report from HRMorning.

The figure, equivalent to $35,568 annually for a full-year worker, sets the minimum pay an employee must earn to qualify for the Fair Labor Standards Act's white-collar exemption from overtime coverage.

What does the threshold determine?

Under the FLSA, salaried workers earning below the standard salary level must receive time-and-a-half pay for any hours worked beyond 40 in a workweek. The $684 figure functions as the dividing line between exempt and non-exempt status before the duties-and-discretion test is applied.

HR teams should expect a direct downstream effect on compensation classifications. Any employee currently classified as exempt whose salary falls below the new threshold will need either a raise to retain exempt status or a reclassification to non-exempt with overtime eligibility.

How much is $684 in annual terms?

The weekly figure translates into an annualized salary of $35,568, calculated on a 52-week basis without paid time off assumptions. Employers often benchmark this against annualized equivalents that include PTO accrual, which can push the effective hourly rate slightly lower.

What changed operationally?

The restoration returns the salary-level component of the exemption test to a previously published level. The duties test — covering executive, administrative, and professional job duties — remains a separate, parallel analysis that employers must still apply.

Compliance deadlines, pay-structure changes, and communication to affected managers are the three immediate workstreams HR leaders typically open following a threshold reset. Time-tracking systems and overtime calculation workflows may also require reconfiguration if employees move from exempt to non-exempt status.

What should HR watch next?

The final rule's effective date and any transition period for employers will determine how quickly payroll systems must be updated. Employers preparing year-end compensation planning should map current exempt salaries against $684 to identify employees sitting closest to the new line. Watch for the rule's publication in the Federal Register and any subsequent guidance from the Wage and Hour Division clarifying implementation expectations.