NOTICE: On April 23, 2024, the U.S. Department of Labor (Department) announced a final rule, Defining and Delimiting the Exemptions for Executive, Administrative, Professional, Outside Sales, and Computer Employees , which will take effect on July 1, 2024. The final rule updates and revises the regulations issued under section 13(a)(1) of the Fair Labor Standards Act implementing the exemption from minimum wage and overtime pay requirements for executive, administrative, and professional (EAP) employees. Revisions include increases to the standard salary level and the highly compensated employee total annual compensation threshold, and a mechanism that provides for the timely and efficient updating of these earnings thresholds to reflect current earnings data.
What is PROMESA?
The Puerto Rico Oversight, Management, and Economic Stability Act (PROMESA) is legislation intended to help address the fiscal crisis in Puerto Rico.
How does PROMESA affect the minimum wage requirements in Puerto Rico?
Section 403 of PROMESA modified Section 6(g) of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) to allow employers to pay employees in Puerto Rico who are under the age of 25 years a subminimum wage of not less than $4.25 per hour for the first 90 consecutive calendar days after initial employment by their employer. This change became effective on June 30, 2016, the effective date of PROMESA. This extension of the youth minimum wage to employees who are under the age of 25 years only applies to employees in Puerto Rico.1
How long will the new youth minimum wage requirement in Puerto Rico be in effect?
The Governor of Puerto Rico, subject to the approval of the Financial Oversight and Management Board established by PROMESA, may designate the duration of this expansion of the Section 6(g) subminimum wage for employees who are under 25 years of age; however, this time period may not exceed four years.
1 Employers elsewhere may pay a youth minimum wage of not less than $4.25 per hour to employees who are under 20 years old during the first 90 consecutive calendar days after initial employment. See Fact Sheet #32: Youth Minimum Wage – Fair Labor Standards Act.