A federal judge in East Texas struck down a Department of Labor overtime rule on August 31 that would have expanded overtime pay. In November 2016, U.S. District Judge Amos Mazzant granted a preliminary injunction delaying the implementation of the rule, which had been slated to go into effect on December 1.
The Fair Labor Standards Act’s (FLSA) new overtime requirements would have raised the maximum salary employees could earn from $455 per week to $913, while still qualifying for mandatory overtime pay. Mazzant’s preliminary injunction had been granted at the request of 21 states, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and several other like-minded organizations.
In his ruling last month, Mazzant said that the regulation overruled Congress’ intent that overtime eligibility depends primarily on job duties rather than salary. Earlier this summer, the Department of Labor said that it was dropping its defense of the regulation and asked for public comments as it rewrote the rule. While noting that the original legislation went too far, Labor Secretary Alexander Acosta has voiced his support of increasing the current salary threshold that determines workers’ eligibility for overtime pay.