In a somewhat surprising and certainly controversial move, a federal court in Texas has issued a preliminary injunction stopping for the time being the DOL’s overtime rules from taking effect on December 1, 2016, as originally contemplated. Moreover, the court’s order applies to all employers on a nationwide basis.
The primary DOL regulation at issue would have increased the minimum threshold salary for “white collar” exempt employees from $455 per week ($23,660 annually) to $913 per week ($47,476 annually). In granting an injunction, the court agreed with a number of states, including Ohio, that drastically raising the minimum salary needed to qualify an individual as an exempt employee could cause substantial harm to the public by increasing state budgets, causing layoffs, and disrupting governmental functions.
Most employers have already changed their employment practices in anticipation of the rule going into effect. If you have not yet done so, you might consider waiting until the courts or other branches of government make a final determination on this issue. Coolidge Wall will be following developments as they unfold in the coming weeks and will update this post as necessary.
