Yesterday, a federal judge in Texas issued a nationwide preliminary injunction barring implementation of the new overtime rule that raises the salary threshold for white collar employees from $23,660 to $47,476. Court Decision This ruling means that the new salary threshold for overtime exemptions of executives, administrators, professionals and highly compensated employees will not go into effect on December 1, 2016, as planned. (Additional information concerning the new rule can be found in this blog post: White Collar Exemption Blog.

The ruling was the result of lawsuits filed in the Texas court against the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) by 21 states and a coalition of business groups to stop the new overtime rule from ever becoming effective. The Texas court granted the defendants’ request to enjoin implementation of the rule on the ground that the DOL exceeded its authority in raising the minimum salary requirements for the exemptions.

This ruling does not mean that the new law has been struck down for good. Rather, it simply means that the rule cannot be implemented or enforced while further legal proceedings continue on the rule’s validity.

We will post an update when a final ruling on the law issues. For any additional information regarding overtime pay and exemption requirements, please contact Danielle Wiletsky at dwiletsky@wsmtlaw.com.