On June 12, 2026, the Fifth Circuit issued its decision in Guilbeau v. Schlumberger Technology Corporation, No. 25-50594, holding that a hybrid compensation scheme combining a fixed biweekly salary with variable day rates qualified as “salary basis” pay under the FLSA, exempting the named plaintiff from overtime as a highly compensated employee (HCE).

Background

On April 23, 2024, the U.S. Department of Labor published a final rule raising the minimum weekly salary many exempt employees must be paid to qualify as exempt from overtime under the Fair Labor Standards Act.  The new rule raises the salary basis threshold for executive, administrative, professional and computer professional exempt employees from $684