New Overtime Rule Blocked For Now
A federal court in Texas has placed a temporary injunction on the implementation of the Department of Labor’s new overtime rule, which was scheduled to go into effect December 1. The injunction does not mean the rule will never go into place, but it will delay implementation while the court reviews the merits of lawsuits brought by several states and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce objecting to the rule. Employers should continue to comply with the Department of Labor’s existing regulations under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), and pay overtime to any employee who is not exempt from the overtime rule. The salary threshold remains at $23,660 for exempt employees, meaning employees who make less than this are not eligible for the exemption, regardless of their job duties. Importantly, however, meeting the salary threshold is not the only requirement for exemption. Employees must also qualify for exemption based on one of the exempt classifications under the FLSA. For more information about these classifications and corresponding job duties, read our blog post on this subject here, or contact us. Many employers have already implemented wage increases to comply with the new rule, and we recommend maintaining those increases where possible to avoid a negative impact on employee morale.