The U.S. Department of Labor is planning a virtual listening session for Southwest employees and stakeholders regarding minimum wage and overtime exemptions for executive, administrative and professional employees.

Possible revisions to the regulations enforcing the Fair Labor Standards Act for those roles will be discussed at the May 25 listening session, according to a May 18 Department of Labor news release. 

“Our goal is to use these sessions to listen, engage workers and hear their perspectives on the possible impact of changes to the regulations,” Acting Wage and Hour Administrator Jessica Looman said in the release. “As we consider the needs of today’s workforce and industry demands, we need public input to ensure that revisions to the overtime regulations fulfill the original intent and promise of the law."

In the fiscal year 2021, the Wage and Hour Division recovered more than $138 million in overtime back pay that benefited 145,000 workers. According to the news release, 80% of all back wages are linked with unpaid overtime. The Fair Labor Standards Act requires employers to pay a federal minimum wage and overtime for 40 or more hours worked per week, excepting salaried employees.

Wage and Hour Division has been using these federal overtime regulations to protect workers and their families, employers and the community since 1938, according to the news release.