We've posted several times (for instance, here and here) about the Obama Administration's rule significantly raising 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. Put simply, the Obama Administration rule meant overtime pay for far more workers.
The rule (1) raised 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) would automatically update the threshold every three years, based on wage growth.
Last November, a federal district judge preliminarily enjoined the new rule, finding that it likely lacked a basis in the governing statute (the Fair Labor Standards Act). And now, the same judge has permanently enjoined the rule nationwide for the same reason. And, with Trump in charge, the Labor Department may not appeal, dooming the rule, and eliminating overtime for millions of workers.
