Entrepreneurs should be paying close attention to proposed federal changes to the “white collar” exemptions of the federal minimum wage and overtime law, otherwise known as the Fair Labor Standards Act (or FLSA).

Changes that the Department of Labor (DOL) proposed earlier this month, if enacted, could cost entrepreneurs big.

To understand the proposals first requires understanding those five FLSA white collar exemptions. They are: executive (supervisory), learned/creative professional, administrative, outside sales and computer professional. Any employee who falls under one of these exemptions is ineligible for overtime. (An employee gets the benefit of federal, state or local law — whichever is best for him or her. This article focuses on federal law only.)

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