---
title: DOL Increases Exempt Employee Minimum Salaries
description: On April 26, 2024, the Department of Labor (DOL) published the much-anticipated final rule that will increase the minimum salary for many exempt employees.
---

[Daily Thread Blog - Thread HCM](https://blog.threadhcm.com)

# [DOL Increases Exempt Employee Minimum Salaries](https://blog.threadhcm.com/dol-increases-exempt-employee-minimum-salaries)

 Written by [HR Pros at HR Support Center](https://blog.threadhcm.com/author/hr-pros-at-hr-support-center) | Jul 1, 2024 7:20:00 PM

## DOL Increases Exempt Employee Minimum Salaries in Two Steps

**July 1, 2024**

On April 26, 2024, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) published the much-anticipated final rule that will increase the minimum salary for many exempt employees.

The increase will take effect in two steps.

If you’d like to review the regulations yourself, they are available [here](https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/FR-2024-04-26/pdf/2024-08038.pdf)—the relevant changes start on page 130 of the downloadable PDF.

## Executive, Administrative, and Professional Employees

Under the new rule, exempt *executive*, *administrative*, and *professional* employees (often referred to collectively as “EAP” employees) must be paid at least:

- **$844 per week** ($43,888 per year) beginning on **July 1, 2024**
- **$1,128 per week **($58,656 per year) beginning on **January 1, 2025**

### Exceptions

Teachers and practicing doctors and lawyers are exempt from these minimum salary requirements under federal law but may be subject to different state minimums. School-specific minimums apply to academic administrative employees.

## Computer Employees

Exempt computer employees can be paid on a salary *or* hourly basis. If salaried, they’re considered part of the EAP group and need to make the minimums listed above. Alternatively, they can be paid at least $27.63 per hour—this hourly rate was not changed by the rule.

## Highly Compensated Employees (HCE)

Employees who are exempt under the HCE exemption must be paid at least the minimums listed above on a salary basis *and* receive total annual compensation of at least:

- **$132,964 per year** beginning **July 1, 2024**
- **$151,164 per year** beginning **January 1, 2025**

## State Law

As usual, if a state law requires higher minimum salaries than what is required by the federal rule, the state minimums must be followed.

## Future Increases

The rule implements automatic updates to the minimum salary levels every three years starting July 1, 2027. We don’t know what the future minimums will be, but employers will have at least 150 days’ notice before those changes take effect. 

## Potential Challenges

The last time the DOL attempted a significant change to the salary minimums, the rule was challenged and ultimately blocked just weeks before taking effect. While we have no way of predicting if that will happen again, it’s very likely that this final rule will be litigated.

## What To Do Now

Employers have the following options:

1. Ensure that salaried exempt employees make at least the new minimum salary required for their classification.
2. Reclassify currently exempt employees as nonexempt and provide them with the rights and benefits that nonexempt employees are entitled to (e.g., minimum wage and overtime pay).

We have created an [FLSA Changes Decision-Making Guide](https://apps.trustmineral.com/resources/guides/1qHj15xxWo96leUxFG86R6/details) and an [FLSA Changes Implementation Guide](https://apps.trustmineral.com/resources/guides/39WYkrznnfwJRf60ko6E7d/details) to help employers determine their next steps. In those guides, we discuss cost-neutral rates of pay, employee morale, how to communicate classification changes, and more.

[View full post](https://blog.threadhcm.com/dol-increases-exempt-employee-minimum-salaries)

```json
{
  "@context" : "http://schema.org",
  "@type" : "BlogPosting",
  "author" : {
    "@type" : "Person",
    "name" : "HR Pros at HR Support Center"
  },
  "dateModified" : "2025-07-15T21:19:16.558Z",
  "datePublished" : "2024-07-01T19:20:00Z",
  "headline" : "DOL Increases Exempt Employee Minimum Salaries",
  "image" : {
    "@type" : "ImageObject",
    "height" : 1080,
    "url" : "https://2515809.fs1.hubspotusercontent-na1.net/hubfs/2515809/HR%20eAlert!%20%281%29.png",
    "width" : 1080
  },
  "mainEntityOfPage" : "https://blog.threadhcm.com/dol-increases-exempt-employee-minimum-salaries",
  "publisher" : {
    "@type" : "Organization",
    "logo" : {
      "@type" : "ImageObject",
      "height" : 60,
      "url" : "/hs/hsstatic/content_shared_assets/static-1.4092/img/default-amp-logo.png",
      "width" : 60
    },
    "name" : "THE DAILY THREAD"
  }
}
```