
An employer’s hearing conservation program has several components. These include hazard assessment, standard operating procedures, personal protective equipment and hearing testing for affected employees. The annual hearing tests play a critical role in determining the ongoing effectiveness of the hearing conservation program.
Annual hearing tests have traditionally been conducted by local audiologists or occupational clinics. The testing could be done at a clinic or through mobile facilities brought to the employer’s location.
Over the past few years, the IMWCA has heard from its members that many of the mobile options and local providers have ceased offering hearing testing services. This has created a dilemma as members seek alternative testing services.
If a local hearing testing provider is not available, IMWCA suggests contacting the following providers that offer mobile, clinic-based, or on-site testing services:
MedCompass: This firm, which also offers firefighter physicals, provides hearing testing through a mobile service that satisfies OSHA and MSHA hearing conservation standards.
Phone: 800.205.8729 | Bobby Lahr | Keegan O’Neil
Examinetrics: This firm offers a variety of testing options. They offer a mobile on-site testing service, operate clinics across Iowa, and provide a computer-based system that employers can administer in-house, provided they have a suitable testing room.
Phone: 212.695.5122 | Jason O’Conner

Virtual Round Tables
Did you miss the Workers’ Compensation Virtual Round Table on Return to Work Strategies? No worries, the recording is a great option to share during your upcoming safety committee meeting.
Register for the next virtual round table on May 13 where we will be discussing all things claims and MOD.
Texas District Court Judge Vacates Fair Labor Standards Act Regulations Increasing Salary Thresholds
Written by attorneys Emily Ellingson and Rebecca Reif at Ahlers & Cooney, P.C. For questions, please call Ahlers & Cooney at 515-243-7611.

After the U.S. Department of Labor issued new final regulations under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) in April of 2024, employers conducted classification and pay reviews for their workforces to come into compliance and meet the increased salary thresholds. Click here for the Ahlers’ summary of the major changes in these FLSA regulations which went into effect on July 1, 2024.
On November 15, 2024, a judge in the Eastern District of Texas issued a ruling which vacates these final FLSA regulations nationwide. This decision applies to the entirety of the July 1, 2024 final regulations. While the U.S. Department of Labor has the option to appeal this decision, it is expected not to do so due to the outcome of November’s Presidential election.
This means that a scheduled increase to salary thresholds for the “executive, administrative, and professional” (EAP) and “highly compensated” exemptions for January 1, 2025 has been halted. It also means that the increase to these salary thresholds which took place on July 1, 2024 is no longer in effect. The salary threshold for EAP employees set prior to the new rules (which is $684 per week, or $35,568 annualized) will be the applicable salary threshold once more.
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