The month of December usually signifies the beginning of a mad dash towards shopping malls; however, Christmas almost came early this year for over 4.2 million American workers. On December 1, 2016 the Department of Labor was slated to adopt a new “Overtime Rule.” This rule would raise the overtime eligibility of salaried employees from $455 per week to $913 per week ($47,476 per year). Any employees who make less than the new threshold would be entitled to overtime compensation for any time worked over 40 hours. Under this new rule, the Department of Labor would update the salary threshold every three years, and it would base these decisions on wage growth over time.
As of now, the proposed implementation date of December 1, 2016 has been pushed back by a November 22, 2016, ruling from the United States District Court, Eastern District of Texas. The presiding judge, The Honorable Amos Mazzant, granted an Emergency Motion for Preliminary Injunction and thereby crippled the Department of Labor’s ability to enforce the new “Overtime Rule” on December 1, 2016.
Now, what does this mean for business owners? Well, the Department of Labor has promised to exhaust all of its available legal resources in order to see this “Overtime Rule” enforced. As a result, business owners will remain in wage-limbo while we await a final decision.
This article was written by Nezar Habhab, Law Clerk.
