Court BLOCKS Overtime Rule Raising Exempt Employee Salary Requirements

Please see the following update from attorney Alexandra Clauss, effective 11/22/2017 in regards to the federal Overtime Rule:

Yesterday evening, a federal judge in Texas granted a nationwide preliminary injunction blocking the Department of Labor’s Overtime Rule from taking effect.  The court’s decision in State of Nevada v. U.S. Dep’t of Labor is available here.  The Overtime Rule was scheduled to take effect on December 1, 2016.  The Rule would have doubled the Fair Labor Standard Act’s minimum salary threshold for exempt employees (from $23,660 to $47,476) and included automatic increases to the salary threshold every 3 years.

Practical implications:  The Overtime Rule will not take effect on December 1, 2016.  The Rule could still be implemented at a later date, pending the court’s decision on a permanent injunction and any decisions on appeal.  For now, employers may continue to follow the FLSA’s existing salary thresholds for exempt employees.  Given this development, we are available to assist with questions about employee messaging and wage change decisions.

For questions on this update, please contact Alexandra Clauss at aclauss@primmer.com