Employer Law Blog

As we previously reported, the minimum salary amount for an exempt employee since 2004 was $455/week or $23,660/annually. On July 6, 2015, the DOL announced its proposed rule which, in part, would mandate that employers have to pay an exempt employee a minimum salary of $970.00/week, or $50,440/annually.

Since its enactment in 1938, the Fair Labor Standards Act (“FLSA”) has generally required employers to pay most employees overtime time and a half for all hours worked over 40 during the workweek. Of course, certain employees that are employed in “white collar” jobs are exempt because, in part, they are paid a regular salary each week, regardless of the number of hours actually worked during the week. The exempt positions include those individuals employed in an executive, professional or administrative capacity.

Effective January 1, 2014, most employers in Missouri are now required to pay a minimum wage of $7.50 per hour, which is higher than the federal minimum wage of $7.25 per hour. The only exception to the Missouri minimum wage increase is for those retail or service employers who have annual gross sales of less than $500,000. Finally, tipped employees must receive a minimum of $3.75 per hour from their employer, who in turn must ensure that the employee receives sufficient tips to bring their total compensation to at least $7.50 per hour.