July 25, 2025
Search
Facebook Instagram X-twitter Youtube
  • Home
  • Business
  • Insider Reports
  • Health & Fitness
  • Lifestyle
    • Culture
    • Texas Family Values
  • Politics
    • Texas Border Crisis
  • Events
  • Opinion
  • Games
  • Podcasts
  • Videos
  • Home
  • Business
  • Insider Reports
  • Health & Fitness
  • Lifestyle
    • Culture
    • Texas Family Values
  • Politics
    • Texas Border Crisis
  • Events
  • Opinion
  • Games
  • Podcasts
  • Videos

Texas Judge Blocks Department of Labor’s Overtime Expansion Affecting 4 Million Workers

The federal judge invalidated the Department of Labor’s rule to expand overtime pay, blocking salary threshold increases that would affect 4 million workers.

Epoch Times Report by Epoch Times Report
November 16, 2024
in Top News, Business, Politics
0
Texas Judge Blocks Department of Labor’s Overtime Expansion Affecting 4 Million Workers

SAN ANTONIO, TEXAS - APRIL 05: Detail picture of the Unites States and Texas flag during the second round of the Valero Texas Open at TPC San Antonio on April 05, 2024 in San Antonio, Texas. (Photo by Brennan Asplen/Getty Images)

Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

By Chase Smith

Updated: 11/15/2024

A federal judge in Texas has struck down a recent rule by the U.S. Department of Labor that aimed to extend overtime pay protections to approximately four million workers.

The decision, made by Judge Sean D. Jordan of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Texas, invalidates the department’s attempt to raise the salary threshold for employees exempt from overtime pay under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). The ruling applies nationwide, affecting employers and employees across the country.

The Department of Labor’s 2024 rule sought to implement staged increases to the minimum salary level at which executive, administrative, and professional (EAP) employees are exempt from overtime requirements.

The first increase, which took effect on July 1, raised the threshold from $684 to $844 per week. A second increase, scheduled for January 1, 2025, would have elevated the threshold to $1,128 per week. Additionally, the rule included a mechanism for automatic updates every three years starting July 1, 2027.

According to the order, the initial increase resulted in about one million employees becoming eligible for overtime pay. The subsequent planned increases were projected to affect an additional three million workers, with millions more impacted by the automatic updates.

The State of Texas and a coalition of business organizations challenged the rule, arguing that the Department of Labor exceeded its authority under the FLSA.

They contended that the significant salary increases effectively displaced the duties-based criteria established by Congress for EAP exemptions, making salary the predominant factor.

Jordan wrote in his opinion and order that “the FLSA’s text does not specify any minimum salary for an employee to qualify for the EAP Exemption.”

He further stated that while the Department has historically included a minimum salary level in its regulations, this level has always been set “deliberately low” to screen out obviously nonexempt employees without supplanting the duties test.

“By raising the salary level in this manner, the Department effectively eliminate[d] a consideration of whether an employee performs ‘bona fide executive, administrative, or professional capacity’ duties,” Jordan wrote, echoing concerns from a similar 2017 case where a previous attempt to increase the salary threshold was also struck down.

The Department of Labor had justified the increases by citing the need to adjust for wage growth and to ensure that the EAP exemption reflects current economic conditions. The agency stated that the rule was necessary to ensure the lowest-earning workers were being properly compensated for their time.

The National Retail Federation (NRF), one of the plaintiffs, issued a statement applauding the court’s action.

“NRF appreciates the Court concurring with our arguments that the Labor Department exceeded its legal authority in promulgating rules clearly inconsistent with the Fair Labor Standards Act,” said David French, NRF’s Executive Vice President of Government Relations. “The rules, if finalized, would have curtailed retailers’ ability to offer the most flexible, generous and tailored benefits packages to lower-level exempt employees across the industry.”

French added, “NRF opposed these rules from the outset. They would have forced employers to reexamine compensation packages for millions of workers nationwide. Had the rule taken effect, some workers would have lost the status of a managerial position, valuable educational and training experiences, the capability to travel on the employer’s behalf, and/or flexibility as to when, how and where they work.”

The Department of Labor has not yet announced whether it will appeal the ruling.

It also did not respond to a request for comment by The Epoch Times on the court’s decision prior to publication.

Tags: #texasdepartment of laboremployeefederal judgejudgeovertime
Epoch Times Report

Epoch Times Report

The Epoch Times' primary goal is to bring our readers accurate information and to be responsible to the public. We are not influenced by any government, corporation, or political party, thus we are non-partisan. The Epoch Times is the fastest-growing independent media in America. And our mission of Truth and Tradition resonates with people of various backgrounds who are tired of the growing bias of the mainstream media and who recognize the danger humanity faces under the systematic destruction of traditional values by the forces behind Communism and Socialism.

Related Posts

This Lubbock Museum Has the World’s Biggest Collection of Something You Never Knew You Wanted to See
Education

This Lubbock Museum Has the World’s Biggest Collection of Something You Never Knew You Wanted to See

July 24, 2025
Step Into the Wild West: Buckhorn Saloon & Texas Ranger Museum Delivers One-of-a-Kind Cowboy  Adventure
Events

Step Into the Wild West: Buckhorn Saloon & Texas Ranger Museum Delivers One-of-a-Kind Cowboy  Adventure

July 24, 2025
This Victorian Mansion on the Texas Coast Had Indoor Plumbing Before Most of America
Culture

This Victorian Mansion on the Texas Coast Had Indoor Plumbing Before Most of America

July 24, 2025

Latest

  • This Lubbock Museum Has the World’s Biggest Collection of Something You Never Knew You Wanted to See July 24, 2025
  • Step Into the Wild West: Buckhorn Saloon & Texas Ranger Museum Delivers One-of-a-Kind Cowboy  Adventure July 24, 2025
  • This Victorian Mansion on the Texas Coast Had Indoor Plumbing Before Most of America July 24, 2025
  • This Saturday: Free Breakfast, Art, and Cowboys in San Angelo July 24, 2025
  • Austin’s Annual Treasure Hunt is Back – And This Weekend You Could Score Amazing Free Furniture! July 23, 2025

Trending Now

  • E4 Texas RoundUP: Exclusive Interview: Rob Scott, IT Attorney & Chief Innovator at Monjur

    E4 Texas RoundUP: Exclusive Interview: Rob Scott, IT Attorney & Chief Innovator at Monjur

    284 shares
    Share 114 Tweet 71
  • Texas Dad Advocates for Legal Changes to the Family Court System

    266 shares
    Share 106 Tweet 67
  • Texas Warrior Moms: Perla Muñoz Hopkins

    154 shares
    Share 62 Tweet 39
  • “Memo to Texas Moms: Be the ‘Flashlight’ that protects your children in our world”

    154 shares
    Share 62 Tweet 39
  • E41. Texas RoundUP: Interview With Jim Camp Jr., Owner And Coach At Camp Negotiations

    133 shares
    Share 53 Tweet 33
  • About
  • Advertise
  • Careers
  • Contact
  • About
  • Advertise
  • Careers
  • Contact

© 2024 All rights Reserved. The Texas Insider.
The Texas Insider is a part of Epoch Media Group.

Facebook Instagram X-twitter Youtube