We have blogged several times (for instance, here and here) about the new U.S. Labor Department rule that significantly raises the pay threshold that triggers exceptions to the general rule that workers must be paid 1.5 times their ordinary pay for every hour they work over 40 per week. In plain English, that means overtime pay for more workers.
The new rule (1) raises the minimum salary level below which workers have the right to overtime pay from $455/week to $913/week ($47,476 per year), adding about 4.2 million overtime-eligible workers; and (2) automatically updates the threshold every three years, based on wage growth.
But . . . today, a federal court in Texas preliminarily enjoined the new rule, finding that it likely lacks a basis in the governing statute (the Fair Labor Standards Act). The court's order is here. Read news reports about the court's ruling here and here.
