Federal Court Blocks New Overtime Rule Scheduled to Take Effect on December 1, 2016

As widely reported, on November 22, 2016, Judge Amos Mazzant of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Texas issued a nationwide preliminary injunction blocking the U.S. Department of Labor’s implementation of new overtime exemption regulations.  These new regulations would have significantly increased the minimum salary that employers must pay certain employees in order to classify them as exempt from overtime, and were set to go into effect on December 1, 2016.  (See New Department of Labor Overtime Rules Will Take Effect on December 1, 2016.)

In light of this injunction, employers do not need to comply with the Department of Labor’s new overtime regulations by December 1, 2016.  Further litigation on this issue may occur in the future and we will continue to provide updates on this issue.  Additionally, certain states may enact their own regulations in this area to raise the minimum salary requirements for an employee to be exempt from overtime, with which employers will need to comply.

If your company was in the process of implementing changes in anticipation of the December 1 effective date of these overtime regulations, or has already implemented such changes, and has questions regarding how to proceed in light of this injunction, please do not hesitate to contact any of our attorneys for assistance.  Additionally, please contact our wage and hour lawyer if you have questions generally about this new development.