independent.co.uk
Texas Judge Blocks Biden Overtime Pay Rule
A Texas judge blocked the Biden administration's expansion of overtime pay eligibility, reverting the salary threshold to the 2019 level.
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United Kingdom
PoliticsLabour MarketUkLawsuitLawEmploymentOvertime
Biden AdministrationLabor DepartmentThe IndependentAssociated Press
Sean JordanJulie Su
- What was the Biden administration's new rule regarding overtime pay?
- A federal judge in Texas blocked the Biden administration's new rule expanding overtime pay access to millions of salaried workers, siding with Texas and business organizations who argued the Labor Department overstepped its authority.
- What was the Labor Department's argument in support of the new rule?
- The Labor Department estimated that the new rule would have provided overtime protections to an additional 4 million workers in its first year and argued it was unacceptable for lower-paid salaried workers to receive no additional pay for doing the same work as hourly counterparts.
- Have there been similar legal challenges to overtime pay expansions in the past?
- Legal challenges to overtime pay expansion have occurred before. In 2016, a similar Obama-era expansion was struck down by a court after facing opposition from business leaders and Republican politicians.
- What is the current salary threshold for overtime exemption after the court ruling?
- The ruling returns the salary threshold to the 2019 level of \$35,568, set under the Trump administration. This means millions of workers will no longer be eligible for overtime pay under the new ruling.
- How many workers would have been affected by the rule, according to the Labor Department?
- The rule would have increased the salary threshold for overtime exemption to \$43,888 annually, impacting approximately 4 million lower-paid salaried workers and requiring employers to pay overtime to those earning less than this amount.