09/01/2017

Federal Judge Strikes Down Obama DOL's Overtime Rule

The key thing for employers to realize is that the salary threshold needs to be increased

A federal judge in Texas has struck down an Obama-era federal overtime rule that would have made more than 4 million currently exempt employees eligible for overtime pay.

U.S. District Judge Amos Mazzant granted summary judgment to more than 55 business groups that had challenged the Obama administration's 2016 rule that more than doubled—from $23,660 to $47,476—the minimum annual salary required to qualify for the Fair Labor Standards Act's "white collar" exemptions. The same court last November blocked the overtime rule from taking effect, but had not declared it invalid. 

Employers don't have to make any changes based on the Aug. 31 ruling, explained Alexander Passantino, an attorney with Seyfarth Shaw in Washington, D.C. The order is a final ruling on the matter, rather than a temporary injunction like the one issued in November 2016. That means the existing overtime regulations—which were last updated in 2004—apply for now, including the $23,660 exempt salary threshold.

Please click here to read the complete article from SHRM.