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On Thursday, March 13, President Obama directed U.S. Secretary of Labor Thomas E. Perez to "modernize and streamline" the Department of Labor's (DOL) "white collar" overtime exemption regulations at 29 C.F.R. Part 541. The regulations define the scope of the executive, administrative, professional, outside sales, and computer exemptions under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). This initiative took many employers by surprise because it was not previously included in the DOL's semi-annual regulatory agenda. In addition, during the Obama Administration, the DOL's regulatory and enforcement focus has been on independent contractor misclassification. However, this move to revise overtime exemption regulations is in step with President Obama's message of "giving America a raise" and comes on the heels of the President's February Executive Order raising the hourly minimum wage for federal contractors to $10.10 an hour. Continue reading this article here.