On November 22, 2016, a federal judge in Texas issued a
nation-wide injunction blocking implementation of new Department of Labor
“white collar” overtime regulations that would have increased the number of employees
eligible for overtime. The new regulation was set to go into effect on December 1,
2016. The white collar regulations would have increased the minimum
salary level of certain employees who are currently paid salary and are “exempt”
from overtime. The salary level would have increased from $455 per week
($23,660 annually) to $913 per week ($47,476 annually). Employees who did
not meet the new higher salary threshold would have no longer been exempt from
overtime.
The injunction was issued just as many employers were preparing to change large numbers of employees from exempt to non-exempt and paying those formerly salaried employees overtime. It is, however, unclear what will become of these regulations. The DOL can certainly appeal and the injunction is "preliminary." Most likely, the issue will not be resolved until after President-Elect Trump takes office.
