Bad news for Texas workers: judge halts overtime pay for millions
Millions of workers are saying goodbye to overtime pay after a federal judge in Texas blocked a key part of the Biden administration’s labor policy.
Earlier this year, the U.S. Department of Labor introduced a new rule to raise the salary threshold for workers eligible for overtime pay, impacting nearly four million salaried employees.
Under this new rule, employers were required to pay overtime to workers earning less than $43,888 annually in specific executive, administrative, and professional roles. The threshold was set to increase to $58,656 starting next year.
Bad news for Texas workers: judge halts overtime pay for millions
Unfortunately, the Biden administration’s new rule will not be going into effect. A federal judge in Texas has stepped in to block this policy, leaving millions of salaried workers without access to overtime pay. Here’s why.
When halting the rule, Judge Sean D. Jordan argued that the U.S. Department of Labor overstepped its authority by passing the regulation, stating that the agency couldn’t prioritize employees' salaries over job duties when determining eligibility, according to NPR.
Under federal law, salaried workers are entitled to overtime pay after working 40 hours in a week. However, many salaried employees are exempt from this requirement unless they earn below a certain income threshold.
For now, it’s unclear whether the Department of Labor will appeal Judge Jordan’s ruling, meaning the previous threshold of $35,568, set during the Trump administration in 2019, will remain in effect. After four months of the new rule, the old threshold is now back in play.
Original article written by Daniela Barrera, translated with the assistance of AI and edited by Greg Heilman.
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