On November 21, the U.S. DOL issued its Fall 2014 semi-annual regulatory agenda.  Many construction industry contractors may not be regular readers of this document, but the November 21 issue is an exception.  In that issue, U.S. DOL announced that the new notice of proposed rulemaking for the white collar exemptions to overtime pay requirements under the FLSA which had been expected in November, 2014 will now be issued in February, 2015.  In March, 2014, President Obama ordered U.S. DOL to revamp the regulations for the white collar exemptions in order to make more workers eligible for overtime.  Obama noted then that the salary requirement threshold is only $23,660.00/year.  As a consequence, most commentators are expecting the salary threshold to be increased substantially and perhaps even doubled.  On another note, the November 21 document also announced that the persuader rule which was expected to be issued in final form in December, 2014 will now be issued in July, 2015.  The persuader rule will expand the reporting requirements on when an employer hires a labor relations consultant to mount an anti-union campaign.  The initial proposed persuader rule generated 9,000 comments when it was proposed in 2011.  The final form of the rule has been delayed several times and the exact details will now not be known until July, 2015.  Both of these rules will have a very substantial impact on employers in the construction industry.  Stay tuned.                           
                                                By Bill Harding, Chapter Attorney