U.S. District Court invalidates new DOL overtime rule

The U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas issued its ruling Nov. 15 invalidating the entirety of the Department of Labor’s (DOL) overtime rule, a decision supported by The Partnership to Protect Workplace Opportunity, of which OSCPA is a member. This ruling returns the minimum salary threshold to $35,568 and the threshold for highly compensated employees to $107,432.

In the ruling, Judge Jordan stated that while DOL has the authority to define and delimit the terms of the overtime exemption, “that authority ‘is not unbounded.’” The Partnership to Protect Workplace Opportunity in May sent a letter to the DOL urging them to delay implementation of the new rule until at least Sept. 1, 2024.

DOL may appeal the decision to the 5th Circuit, but under the new administration will almost assuredly abandon its defense of the rule. Over the next four years, it may choose to issue its own rulemaking to update the threshold.