Employers’ Government Shutdown Plans Should Contemplate FLSA Salary-Basis Rules By Timothy M. McConville, Esq.

Federal contractors planning for possible shutdowns should look hard at whether their contingency planning, including leave-without-pay practices, are inconsistent with Department of Labor regulations governing employees who are exempt from the overtime pay requirements of the Fair Labor Standards Act (“FLSA”).  Under the FLSA, employees who meet the tests for the executive, administrative and professional exemptions, often referred to as the “white collar exemptions,” are exempt from the FLSA overtime pay requirements.